One Million Reasons
by satori93
Summary: After moving to Domino City she makes friends with Yugi and the gang, but they don't know about her little secret and her bond to someone who wants to defeat them. Jesara was sure she left her past with him behind her, but gets proven wrong when she finds herself in his firing line. Is it fear, hate or desire she feels about their reunion? Placed in Battle City / Marik X OC
1. Chapter 1: Scars

**AN:** Hey there! Glad you clicked on One Million Reasons. I thought a while if I should start writing down my thoughts and start my own fan fiction. And well, here it is. My first chapter. I don't really know were this story will lead exactly, I have some ideas for the plot, but there's a lot work to do. :P and I hope I can manage to complete it! Please review, no flames - but constructive criticism is highly appreciated. I'd love to have your thoughts and maybe suggestions for scenes :-) My excuses if my English isn't the best. I decided to write the story in English, although my native language is German. I like English much much more!

**Chapter updated:** spelling errors and style. enjoy :-)

Well then, enjoy and make sure to review!  
XOXO

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**Chapter I: Scars**

Spring was finally here and the trees started to regain their beautiful green leafes, which danced in the mild winds. The sound of it met her ears when she stared outside the window, observing the beauty of mother nature awaking again after a long chilly winter. Her slightly tanned face rested in her palm while her lips nibbled on the black pen in her fingers.

"Miss Jendayi! I'm not asking you one more time!" A harsh female voice cut through her daydream when she snapped back to reality. "Could you please answer the question?" the familiar, yelling voice met her ears again. It was her teacher, who shot an angry glare towards her.

Jesara blinked at her in confusion. "I'm sorry Mrs Johnson, but I have to admit that I missed the question…Obviously. Would you be so kind to…" she said sorrowfully, but was immediately cut off by her teacher. "No, I'll not repeat myself for the third time. You're not here for daydreaming. Better you take school more serious if you want to make it through the final exams! So I suggest you'll write a ten page essay about Romeo & Juliet to catch up on what you've missed. I expect you to hand it to me at the end of this week."

First there was silence in the classroom. A few seconds later it was filled with snickers and whispering from the other students when suddenly the school bell finally declared the end of the lesson. Jesara still locked eyes with her teacher and finally nodded. "Understood, Mrs Johnson. You'll have the essay this friday. I'm sorry…" she said quietly.

The room filled with scratching sounds of tables and chairs when most of the students stood up, collected their things and left for the break. She still didn't move and just stared at the book in her hands. It was Romeo & Juliet. Oh how much she hated literature, especially love stories and kitschy stuff like that.

"I wonder how someone like you is playing duel monsters that good while having the attention span of a fly." A familiar voice said in a well-known bothering tone. Piercing steel blue eyes stared at her from the side, slightly covered under chocolate brown bangs. It was Kaiba who shot her one of his annoying, arrogant smirks which she would love to beat out of his pretty boy face.

"Mind your own business, Mr Rich & Famous!" She hissed when she gave Kaiba an angry glare. Without saying one more word but still smirking Kaiba elegantly stood up from his seat and stepped out of the classroom chuckling.

"Jess, is everything alright?" Tea now stood by her table, sighing at the fact that the rich jerk had left the building. "What were you thinking about?" She kindly asked.

Jesara finally looked up and met Tea's friendly gaze. "Uhm… Nothing special. I was just daydreaming I think. I'm fine." She said as she started to pack her pens, schoolbooks and notebook into her cross-shoulder bag.

It did't take long until little Yugi, Joey and Tristan joined their company. "Damn Jess! I really pity you for this awful ten page essay about this creepy book!" Joey huffed in his typical manner. Yugi & Tristan nodded in agreement. "If you need help with it, just let us know. We could help you with the essay if you want." Yugi said while wearing a warm smile, his violet eyes told nothing than kindness.

"Thank you Yugi, but you don't have to deal with my problems…" Jesara exhaled and formed a wry smile on her lips, still stuffing her things into her bag.

"But that's what friends are for, you forgot?" he answered with a slight giggle.

Jesara smiled down at him, her eyes filled with thankfulness. "Thank you. I really appreciate that. I'll let you know if I need any help."

"So." Yugi looked around at everyone in the group. "Would you all like to meet for a coffee or so in downtown after the girl's swimming lessons this afternoon? It'd be great to enjoy the spring sunshine!" He cheered.

At this Jesara froze and her face went as pale as fresh snow. "Oh no…" she sighed. "I must've totally forgotten about this…"

"What's wrong, Jess? Did you really forget about the swimming lessons today? To remind you, they're starting in just 15 minutes, so we should get going." Tea declared by giving Jesara a small smile. She clearly hoped for her to join, because swimming lessons were better with friends and Jesara was the only other female in their clique.

"Uhm, well…I- I don't think I…" Jesara stammered and rubbed her temple searching for a good excuse.

"What's wrong? Or is it _this time of the month_…?" Tea arched a curious brow at her light grey haired friend. This time she spoke a bit lower, but Yugi & the rest of the gang did hear her suspicion anyways.

Jesara grimaced at Tea's spoken thoughts. "Oh… uhh. Well, yes. And I don't really feel well, you know _this time of the month_ always makes me feel a bit sick." She lied. "Tea, I'm sorry for not joining you. Can you please tell Mrs Carter-Stewart that I'm dropping out this time because of… you know… _strawberry week_?" Jesara tried to whisper and bit her bottom lip nervously.

Tristan's, Joey's and Yugi's eyes widened in embarrassment while listening to the girl's conversation about _that kind _of girl stuff. It wasn't like they didn't knew about those things, but hearing them talk about it made them feel highly uncomfortable. "Weeeeeeeeeeell ladies! I think that's our keyword to leave _now_!" Joey snickered while his face turned as red as tomato juice, so did Tristan & Yugi. "See you then! I'll text you when and where!" Joey exclaimed while the three buys left the classroom in a hurry.

Tea and Jesara burst out laughing after the boys left because of _too much information_.

"Okay then. I'll tell Mrs Carter-Stewart about your _physical condition_." Tea smiled at Jesara, turned on heel while heading for the exit. "I guess I'll see you later for a delicious chai latte?"

"That's for sure!"

"Alright then! CU later! I will tell Mrs Carter-Stewart that you went home because of PMS." Tea left the classroom and turned right for the direction of the natatorium. Jesara was now all alone in the silent room, her expression immediately changed from happy to sad. _'If they only knew…'_ she thought, exhaled deeply and grabbed her bag. _'I'd rather have periods for three lifetimes than…that.'. _She then also headed out of the classroom and made her way home.

**/ At Jesara's Flat**

When she entered her flat she tossed her bag in a corner and threw her jacket on her coatrack. She slowly made her way to the bathroom while taking off one piece of her schools uniform after the other and dropped them down right along her way. It really wasn't her best day after all so she couldn't care less about making her flat a total mess. Who should even care about that? She was living all alone at her tender age of seventeen, almost eighteen.

After a long, hot shower she dried herself with a fluffy dark grey towel und wrapped it around her body. She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror to check her appearance. _'Well, I think a soon visit at my coiffeur will do me no harm. Oh Ra, my hair is growing like hell…'_ she thought while running her slight fingers through her light grey hair. Long time ago she started to dye her hair that way, because she thought that granny hairstyle goes well with her darker skin tone. So she had to refresh it every once in a while to cover her nearly black roots, but her last _date_ with her beloved and absolute clearly gay hairdresser Chad has been about 4 months ago. After this long period of time her natural dark roots blended beautifully with her light grey hair color - making it look like an extreme kind of that ombré look. _'Mh, although it could be worse. This beauty accident isn't looking too bad…'_

After towel drying her hair she made her way towards her wardrobe and put on fresh undergarments. From the corner of her eye she could see herself in her full-body mirror - her expression grew sad again before she squinted her eyes. After a few moments of hesitating she turned to look at herself in the mirror once again. Her eyes, which had a fancy color-mix of light amber and some sort of olive green, inspected herself from head to toe. Jesara was a girl of average height similar to her friend Tea, although she was a bit thinner and her breasts were quite smaller than hers. Her expression was tense, a mix of sadness and also self-confidence. _'You're not his toy anymore. You're not a victim. You're free and this part of your life is over. Forget about it and never remember it again.' _She told herself while scanning herself in the big full-body mirror with a golden barock-style frame.

After taking a deep breath she turned her back towards the mirror and glanced over her shoulder to see her reflection - a few tears gathered in the corner of her eyes when she looked at the deep and numerous long scars on her back, which reached from above her hips up to her shoulder blades. She clenched her fists and tried to hold back her tears, before finally giving them a run. Jesara buried her face in her hands and sobbed. _'But how could I forget about this day when I'm doomed to carry this scars with me as long as I live…?' _After taking a few deep breaths to calm down she shook her head lightly, as like she wanted to shake off all those negative emotions and memories. _'You're stronger than this. He'll never hurt you again. May he rot in his anger somewhere in egypt…'_

She grabbed an outfit out of her closet to get ready for meeting the gang in Downtown Domino. _Black is my happy color_ would describe her style perfectly - her closet was some sort of a little brother to an enormous black hole. Just a few pieces of color could be found in it. Jesara decided for black skinny jeans, studded black ankle-boots, an olive-green tank top and a slim-fit black leather jacket on top. To finish her outfit she decided for 3 differently, lightly studded black leather belts, which she wore criss-cross around her waist. One belt had her duel monsters deck case attached to it. She loved dark clothes, leather and studs - she didn't like typical girly outfits, short skirts or dresses like Tea liked to wear. Her more masculine and tough clothing was a kind of wall to hide herself behind. It gave her the feeling to be strong, although she highly doubted that.

Just as she brushed her chest-length hair intro place her cell phone peeped and vibrated on the highboard beside her - she got a text message.

"Meet in 30 mins at The Coffee&Cake! Hope to see ya there! Kisses!" She read out loud from her phone's display when she made an embarrassed grimace and face-palmed. "Oh Joey…" she cried out loud. "Please stop texting me freaking kisses…" She knew Joey had a little crush on her, but he really wasn't her _type_. He was a nice guy, funny and a person she knew she could rely on, but he wasn't a guy she could imagine to date. Jesara just friend-zoned him from the very beginning. After throwing her cell phone, purse and other things in her matching shoulder bag she left and headed for the subway station to downtown Domino.

**/ At the Coffee&Cake**

"Hi Jess! Hope you're feeling better now with your... urgh" Joey shouted in excitement when his eyes caught Jesara approaching them, but sometimes his tongue worked faster than his brain. His voice changed to an embarrassed mutter when his sentence came to the _girl stuff_ part.

"Hi! Yes, I'm fine" she smiled and lightly scratched the back her head. "How was your afternoon so far?" Jesara took a seat at the outside table the gang sat on. It belonged to the cafe "Coffee&Cake" and hell, they offered the best chai latte in town.

Yugi, Tea, Tristan and Joey looked with an unreadable expression at each other, which meant nothing good. Jesara arched a brow at her friend's wry faces. "Is anything wrong?" She asked.

"Well, there was a cloaked weirdo, who stole Yugi's puzzle and-" Tea started to report, when Jesara cut her off.

"WHAT? How do you manage to get in one trouble after another? What the hell happened?" She squeaked.

"Uhm… long story short. This weirdo forced Yugi to duel him in an old building. The winner would keep the puzzle. Yugi won and everything's alright. But it turned out that this cloak-wearing weirdo was Bandit Keith - at least he looked like him." Tea continued telling Jesara the latest events with a worried expression.

When Tea's words sunk in Jesara raised a brow with a questioning expression on her face. Her amber-olive eyes locked with Tea's blue ones. "What do you mean by _at least he looked like him?_" She asked and then looked over at Yugi for more details.

"He did't act like the Bandit Keith we all know from duelist's kingdom… he didn't even sound like him, his voice was so different. Also his accent was completely different from which we know. _And_ he knew a lot about the millennium items and my puzzle. I don't really know why… how could he know about them?" Yugi explained, his eyes narrowed in concern while he focused on his coffee mug on the table. Jesara's eyes widened and thousands of thoughts rushed through her head. '_It can't be, This has to be a freaky kind of coincidence.'_

"Oh my god… A-and what do you think why he acted s-so different?" She stammered. Just then Joey interrupted them when he put a mug of chai latte in front of Jesara and gave her the sweetest smile he could manage. "Oh, thank you Joey!" She smiled at him, then she looked back to little Yugi to hear what he had to say.

"Mhh…" he murmured. "His face was almost expressionless when he spoke… and his eyes were so dead, blank… soulless. It was like it wasn't Bandit Keith who spoke out of him."

When Yugi's words met Jesara's ears she nearly inhaled her chai latte instead of drinking it, she choked and coughed a few times before she regained her voice. "What!?" She nearly screamed, for a short moment she totally lost control of her voice and reaction.

Tea gave her a piercing glare. "Jess, is everything alright?"

"Oh uhm - yes." Jesara murmured. _Hell Jess, watch your words! _"I-I'm… it's just sounds so… you know. quite creepy & and hard to believe."

The whole gang nodded in agreement and downed their drinks. After a few moments of silence Joey spoke up. "BUT there are also some great news! Moneybag's hosting a duel monsters tournament! It'll start in just 2 days!" He exclaimed with a grin.

"Oh wow… this guy seems to be quite spontaneous. Two days, huh?" Jesara raised a brow and looked over to the blonde. Kaiba is always thinking four times before doing anything. And why should he announce a big tournament just 2 days before it starts? '_Maybe the hormones…or maybe his bruised ego.'_ she thought to herself, rolling her inner eye by thinking about the selfish Kaiba.

"So, are you signing in, Jess?" The blonde asked, his face full of excitement - like he only would accept a _yes_ from her.

Jesara's eyes were glued to her mug while she thought about it. She never took part in any king of duel monsters tournament and all she could think about now what that incidence with Bandit Keith was all about. She was good in playing duel monsters, she also had some quite rare cards and Joey always lost when they both duelled. Duel monsters was fun for her, she enjoyed it. But a tournament…? After 3 more seconds she looked up, meeting her friends expectant eyes. "Yeah, why not give it a try?" She ginned.

The gang spent the whole afternoon chatting about the upcoming tournament and other stuff. It was close to sunset when they decided to make their way home. They hugged each other and said goodbye. Jesara decided to walk home instead of taking the subway. Todays events kept her in deep thoughts and didn't let go of her mind.

'_What if this different side of Bandit Keith has something to do with him…? Why would a jerk like Keith want Yugi's puzzle? That guy is almost too dumb to even know on which continent egypt is.' _She thought while walking through the busy streets of Domino. _'This must be a coincidence… At least I hope it is.'_

About 20 minutes later she arrived at her home, sighing when she saw the mess she left earlier. Jesara cleaned it up in just two minutes and got herself ready for bed, but her thoughts didn't let her sleep too soon. _'No… Bandit Keith's behavior must've other reasons… I'm sure. Don't worry, Jess.'_ She conceived herself when she tossed and turned around in her bed. _'And by the way… when I'm joining moneybag's tournament I should hire a ghostwriter for this stupid Romeo & Juliet essay…"_


	2. Chapter 2: Warning Signs

AN: Yes, I just finished the second chapter. Don't burn me for this poor essay-workaround! :P I realized this little mini-sideplot was sh*t. But this chapter is better in the end and thing's are already becoming serious. I hope you like the little breadcrumb ;-) PLEASE review, it will keep me motivated to continue this story and to complete upcoming chapters more faster. Let me know your thoughts or scene suggestions :-) Enjoy!

Chapter Updated! Details, spelling and typing errors.

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**Chapter II**

**Warning Signs**

The next morning Jesara got up early, made herself presentable for school as usual and enjoyed her everyday ritual of drinking her first cup of freshly brewed coffee on her balcony, watching the sun rise in a deep golden shade over Domino City. The sun beams burnt on her tanned cheeks and it reminded her so much of how the sun felt on her skin back in her former home. She couldn't think about something else than last days events and what it could be all about. This freaky incidence with Bandit Keith and Yugi duelling for the millenium puzzle and his extreme change in behavior did't let go of her mind. It tied it up in thousands of knots the more she thought about it and the possibility of her greatest nightmare catching up on her. And also there's this vexing essay about Romeo & Juliet for her literature class, which also wants to be done by friday. She sighed as she stared at the bottom of her now empty coffee mug. _‚You really think too much, Jess.' _her inner voice exhorted.

Jesara felt reliefed as she checked out todays school plan; no sports lessons, no literature and school will be over by 2 pm. What a bless! So there'd be enough time to check in for Kaiba's tournament after school and maybe make some adjustments to her deck. She still was quite confused about why Kaiba is setting up a tournament like out of the blue. Mr Rich & Famous would normally have spent a minimum of 2 months of super fancy and expensive marketing and advertising in advance to make sure the whole world would know about how cool, talented and great he is. _‚Who cares… nobody understands … I guess he's not in control over his bitterly crashed ego since the duelist's kingdom.'_

School went by almost unbearable slow and for her it felt like an eternity. Additional to that there was no freaking chance she could concentrate on the subjects. After school the gang decided to visit a nearby game store, which was one of many official registration check-points all over the city. Yugi and Joey were beyond excited when they finally arrived at the store. It wasn't as big as Mr. Muto's store, but it had its own special charm.

„I really wonder about how those new duel disks are working. Kaiba said with those it's possible to duel wherever and whenever you want all over the city." Yugi thought out loud, rubbing his chin with his right hand when his eyes where fixed on a poster of the new duel disks, which hung in front of the store. Jesara arched an interested brow at the poster; those things definitely looked fancy and stylish. _'I have to admit that Kaiba has a good taste in industrial design.'_

„Who cares? As long as I can kick his butt out of this tournament…" Joey grinned and balled his fist for emphasis to show the gang how serious he was to defeat Kaiba this time.

Jesara raised a brow and glared at the blonde with a little smirk. „Well, Joey… _If you do_ I want to see it from first row. But you know that Kaiba is one of the worlds best duelists?"

„If only you cheer me on in first row there's no chance I could loose!" the blonde shouted in excitement as he wrapped Jesara's hands in his as he gave her a way too charming smile. Obviously his homrones just burned his brain. She stared at him in utter confusion while Yugi, Tea & Tristan face-palmed with a sigh.

„Uhm Joey, may I have my hand back? I _will _cheer you on. I promise." she said softly enough to make sure not to offend him or make him think she doesn't like him. It seemed like he still didn't realize that she had no romantic interests in him. Hopefully he will learn it sooner or later or find himself a girlfriend to fall for. She just didn't find a way to tell him.

„What are you guys waiting for? Let's go in and register." Tea interrupted with a wry grin and received a thankful glance from Jesara.

In the store they were friendly greeted by a man behind the counter. He wore big nerd glasses in front of his piercing green eyes; his hair had a natural shade of deep ash brown and his outfit was a regular t-shirt and used blue jeans. „Hey fellas! How may I help you?"

Yugi was first first to speak up and smiled warmly in his typical manner at the man. „We'd like to register for the tournament of Kaiba Corporation and pick up our duel disks!"

The man nodded and looked right behind him. „You guys are lucky, I have three duel disks left for you. May I have your names?" he kindly asked while he grabbed his computers keyboard - ready to type his costumers names to search in the database. His green eyes met Yugi's violet ones awaiting the young boy to speak.

„Yugi Mutou" Yugi said, smiling. The man typed in his name and retuned a polite smile.

„Okay, Yugi. You're rated with five stars in Kaiba Corp's database and I'm happy to tell you that you're qualified to compete in the tournament!" he announced and grabbed one of the duel disks behind him and then handed it over to little Yugi, who's expression was like today was christmas, easter and his birthday all at once. The man then looked over to Joey, awating him to tell him his name.

„And my name is Joey Wheeler!" he proudly announced as like he was some sort of celebrity. One short moment passed by as the man checked the database in the computer. But then he frowned.

„Oh I'm sorry, Joey. But you're only rated with one star out of five. That's not enough to register for the tournament… I'm very sorry."

Joey's eyes widened in disbelief when he was close to freak out. „WHAT? How could hat be? I was on second place in duelists kingdom! Where do you even get those informations from!?" the blonde yelled a bit too loud.

„It's the official duelists database of Kaiba Corporation. They did research of every duelist an-„ the man explained, but was cut short by the furious blonde. „KAIBA! I knew it! He manipulated them because he can't stand me! I can't believe it! Argh!"

The man just stared at him with a pitiful expression before returning his gaze back to the computer display when suddenly his expression changed completely. „Oh! I'm sorry but it seems like my computer had a error. Actually you have a four star rating! That's enough to register! Congratulations!" he exclaimed while handing over another duel disk to the blonde, who calmed down again and grinned like an idiot when he eyed his brand new duel disk.

„May I ask you what else this database tells you about the duelists?" Jesara interrupted and gave the man a suspicious glance. At this the friendly man turned around his display to show them all the information on it. „As you can see I can check out your official rating, a picture of you and I can see the rarest card you've ever played in a duel before. In case of Joey Wheeler it's the rare Red Eyes Black Dragon!" he explained.

„Isn't that a bit unfair…?" she asked again. "I mean that's the spoiler of the century, isn't it?"

„Well, I'm just doing my job here, Miss… Maybe it is, but I'm just doing what I was told to do and get payed for." he answered with a shrug.

After she shot him another suspicious glare she realized she could only accept it, not thinking about it more than needed. „Okay then. My Name is Jesara Jendayi. Written with a Y and I at the end."

The man typed in her name and checked once more of he had written her name correctly, after a short pause he smiled again. „Fine! You're also rated with four stars. I think you'd like to know that the database tells that your rarest card is the _Guardian Angel Joan_, is that correct?"

„Yes, correct" she nodded with a dry smile, not feeling comfortable with this whole situation of him knowing which cards she had in her deck. She felt like she was an open book for everyone to read. The man then handed over the last remaining duel disk to Jesara and wished them good look. After waving goodbye to the friendly man behind the counter the gang left the game shop and made their way towards Downtown.

„Kaiba is such a jerk… Did he really collect all possible information about every single duelist on this planet?" Joey asked while walking with his hands crossed behind his head.

„You know that Kaiba is a control-freak… ignore him." Tea shrugged. „You'd better focus on the tournament than wasting your energy on Mr Rich & Famous."

Yugi then changed the topic. „Do you already know about the tournament rules? They're quite… special." he said.

They stopped walking and focused on little Yugi, awaiting an explanation. The teen then started to explain. „You'll now have to sacrifice weaker monster cards to summon stronger ones; I think this rule will make the battles a lot more interesting! But on the other hand the loser will have to hand over his rarest card to the winner… That's a bit strange. I don't really want to loose my dark magician to anyone. But it's a great chance to collect some really awesome cards during the tournament!"

Joey's expression went furious once more. „WHAT? Argh! Kaiba did this on purpose" This selfish motherf-!" he yelled, but was cut off by Tea. „Joey, calm down. I'm sure you won't loose! Think positive!"

Everyone nodded in agreement and the blonde sighed before calming his nerves. „Okay then. It's late. I promised Serenity to stay by her side tonight. Tomorrow is the day of her eye surgery and I have to spend her some comfort and strength." Joey said before he turned on heel for the direction of the hospital. „I think I'll see you tomorrow when the tournament starts! Make sure you all pray for my little sister and her surgery!" he exlaimed happily while he sprinted off.

„Uhm… 'till tomorrow!" the gang said in unison.

„Guys, I'll also make my way home. I have to make some final adjustments to my deck and I'm sure I won't get just one second of sleep until tomorrow… you know, that goddamn essay about Romeo & Juliet…" Jesara spoke up and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

„Uhm, I don't know what you think about the idea…" Yugi said, looking at Jesara and then his eyes drifted over to Tea & Tristan. „…but what about spending the afternoon at my place and we help each other with our deck adjustments? And when we four work together I'm sure we have your essay ready & done in no time!"

Tea and Tristan looked at Yugi and after a short moment they nodded in unison, giving Jesara an assuring smile. „Yes! That's a great idea" Tea said in her typical always-happy manner. Jesara eyed her friends and responded with an thankful smile. „You guys are amazing… thank you."

**/ Three hours later, at Yugi's place**

Yugi was right; they managed to finish Jesara's essay in just two hours of work. Thanks to Tea they were also able to add some more fluffiness to the whole thing. Jesara was more than grateful to have such helpful friends, she could count and rely on them come what may. They also had enough time to make a final check to their duel decks.

„I think I can be satisfied with my almost new deck." Jesara grinned when she packed her adjusted deck back into the case and fixed it on her belt again. „How about you, Yugi?"

Yugi looked at her with a self-confident smile and nodded. „Yeah, I think my new cards in here make it a killer deck!"

„Eww… I wished I had any idea of what you're doing…" Tea scoffed, lying on the floor quite bored by her friends. „I feel you, Tea…" Tristan sighed in agreement to his female friend, ruffling his hand through his brown hair. Yugi and Jesara chuckled at their friends bewilderment.

„I can't wait until tomorrow… I never joined a tournament. I really wonder how it will be. And I'm so excited about who else we'll meet tomorrow." Jesara wondered, rubbing her chin with her right hand.

„As long as we don't run into another guy acting strange like Bandit Keith yesterday…" Yugi thought out loud. His words kicked Jesara back to her worries about this incident. She nearly forgot about it - well, she pushed it aside as good as possible.

„Yeah… I hope so too. Promise me you care a bit more about your puzzle. I can't imagine you without it and the spirit in it…" she replied, lost in thoughts.

„Oh! Didn't we tell you about our latest discovery about the _spirit_!?" Tea interrupted them as she made herself sit upright. „Yugi and me - well, it was more the _spirit_ and me visited the new egyptian exhibit in the museum. There we met a very interesting woman - well, it was more like she'd been waiting for us, as if she knew we were coming… She told us a lot about the egyptian history and it turned out that the _spirit_ is not just like any spirit! He's a 5000 years old pharaoh who saved the world! Isn't it amazing? She also told us that this pharaoh erased his own memory for some reason… Hard to believe, isn't it?"

Jesara sat there in some kind of shock rigid as her friend's words sunk in. She couldn't believe what Tea has just told her about the spirit she called her friend for at least almost 2 years. Old memories flashed her mind and she couldn't stop staring at Tea as if she was transformed into a statue.

„Jess?"

Jesara didn't react to Tea.

_‚__Could it be that this spirit is this special pharaoh we waited for…? But if that's true…"_ Her heart began to beat a million miles a minute.

„Hello? Is Jess at home?" she spoke up a bit louder, hoping to get at least a wink from her friend.

„JESS!?" she now shouted and Jesara winced when she snapped back into reality. „What's wrong?"

„Oh… I'm sorry. Ehm…" she stammered. „B-but it sounds so… as you said, hard to believe."

„Yeah…" Tea sighed. Her friend's reaction confused her. Why did she react so weird?

„You should also visit this exhibition, it's very well made. I thought because you're from Egypt too you'd enjoy to see some related things again… I know it's not like really being home, but you know what I mean." Yugi smiled at her.

„Maybe… You said you spoke to a woman and she somehow already expected you two? As like she knew you were coming…?" Jesara asked after clearing her throat, her voice was close to whispering and they could read from her face that she were concerned and nervous. Anxiousness and unease were evident in her amber-olive eyes. Yugi raised a brow, not sure what to think about her reaction.

„Yes, she was about… let me think … about 20 years old. I guess her name was Ishizu and it turned out that she is the wielder of the millenium necklace, which shows her the past & the future." he told her, awaiting her reaction.

Once again some kind of shock overwhelmed her, her slightly tanned skin went pale. Jesara looked like she'd seen a super spooky ghost. She saw her past repeating in super time lapse in front of her eyes. _‚No… Ishizu…?" _Her past caught up on her and hit her like a sledgehammer.

Jesara began so sweat and breathe heavily. Was this a panic attack? Please not right no - no no no no.

„Jess! What's wrong?" Yugi kneeled down beside her and layed his hand on her shoulder to spend her some comfort. Also Tea kneeled next to her on the other side and Tristan watched from a chair across the room, not knowing what he could do right now. Jesara massaged her temples to calm down her nerves. She cleared her throat once more. „It's ok… I-It was just a bit… a lot of information… I'm okay." she said quietly.

„Are you sure?" Yugi asked with a concerned expression. Jesara only nodded and brushed away the sweat on her forehead with her palm.

A few seconds went by, the room was filled in awkward silence. None of them dared to speak nor knew what to say. What the hell was going on? Why did she act like this?

„Oh, I-I think it's very late. I should go home!" Jesara finally regained her voice and rose to her feet, hardly finding any balance. „I need to do my laundry before going to bed a-and there're some other things I need to do before tomorrow! Thank you so much for your help! Next round of coffee is on me." she explained with a nervous undertone. Before anyone could say just a single word she stuffed her belongings in her bag and headed out of Yugi's room and then out of the Game Shop. Her friends looked at each other. _What the heck_ was written on each others expression. What to do now? Go after her or let her be? She seemed like she wanted to be alone for some reason. They decided to text her later to make sure Jesara was okay.

**/ Jesara's flat**

_BANG!_

The door slammed shut behind her after she stormed her flat. Jesara only stood there, lost in thoughts when tears started to gather in the corner of her eyes and she started to shiver. By now she could finally weep freely.

_‚__What have I done that fate is giving me five tons of lemons…? I left everything I had behind to escape from him… and now I find myself directly in his firing line… friend with his enemy. Does he already know about the whereabouts of the pharaoh's spirit and his vessel? I hope not… Please let it be a coincidence that Ishizu is in town…'_ she couldn't manage to get her thoughts straight. _‚Ishizu might already know about MY whereabouts… after I ran off… I hope HE doesn't know…'_

She threw herself onto her bed and buried her face into her pillows, sobbing uncontrollably. Jesara wanted to shout, scream and punch into her pillow all at the same time.

_‚__But what if he already knows… What if the incidence with Bandit Keith was just a warning sign about what was coming and I just ignored it perfectly? No no no.' _she thought while she nearly cried her eyes out of her head, soaking her pillows with the salty liquid mixed with black stains from her non-waterproof mascara. Jesara's mind went wild and uncontrollable - today's events and everything she was told by her friends really messed her up. She was awake until midnight unable to find just one second of sleep and she still didn't calm down. Eventually she feel into a restless sleep.

**/ The next morning**

Jesara awoke when the first sunbeams met her face and warmed her tanned skin with their grace. This night was terrible and she was sure she just looked a total nightmare today. Sighing she got up, realizing she slept in her schools uniform and didn't even remove her makeup yesterday. _‚I'm sure I look like a nightmare panda bear on drugs… or like Freddy Kruegers wife…with a hangover.'_ she thought bitterly as she inhaled deeply.

Before her brain could start to work again to make her think about yesterdays events she made her way to the bathroom and treated herself with a long, hot shower and lathered herself with her favourite lavender body-wash to calm her nerves. While she the scent met her nose her eyes were focused on the bottle. Jesara stared at it and the mustered the beautiful violet color of it. _‚Like his eyes…'_ She sighed. _‚Oh Ra… please, don't make my worst nightmare become reality… I really don't want to see those icy eyes ever again.'_

Today was the start of the Battle City tournament and her classmates were all beyond excited about today's event. When she entered the classroom Jesara was greeted by her friends with the same concerned expression as yesterday.

„Good morning, how are you today?" Yugi asked softly.

Jesara locked eyes with him. _‚If I could only tell you…'_ she thought before she answered his question. „I'm fine. You know, what you guys told me yesterday quite freaked me out. But I think you understand that it's hard to believe that the spirit in your puzzle is a 5000 year old pharaoh etcetera." she forced a smile and rubbed the back of her head, messing up her light grey hair a bit.

Her friends nodded at her, then she realized that Joey was missing. „Where is our blonde Mr. Catastrophe?" she questioned then while raising a brow.

„I think he's at the hospital to stay by Serenity's side. Today is the day of her eye surgery. Joey said she is very nervous…" Tea explained to her.

„Ah… Well, I hope everything's going to be fine with his sister." Jesara said while she took her seat. The school day started with Jesara's most hated subject: literature. Mrs Johnson entered the classroom and her heavy bag landed with a loud BANG on the front desk.

„As you may know today's the start of Mr Kaiba's funny whatsoever tournament…" Mrs Johnson gave Kaiba's empty seat a nasty glare. „so school has been cancelled for today. Have a nice weekend." she murmured. The whole class cheered and immediately packed their stuff together and headed for the exit. Before also the gang and Jesara left the classroom, she handed her essay to Mrs Johnson.

When the gang had left the school building an annoying beeping sound came from Tea's cell phone. „Hey Joey! How's Serenity? Everything's fine?" she giggled into the phone. Tristan, Jesara & Yugi scanned her hopefully, expecting good news.

„OH MY GOSH! _WHAT_ DID HAPPEN, JOEY!?" she shrieked into the phone after a few seconds. „You lost your Red Eyes!?"

The gang looked at her in shock, expecting further explanation from her friend. She told Joey that they'll meet at the Domino main square in a hour and ended the call. „Joey has been forced to duel by a freaky, cloaked gangster last night on his way to the hospital. He lost the duel and had to hand over his rarest card to the creep… his beloved Red Eyes…" she explained sadly and repeated the hard facts Joey had told her on the cell. „We'll meet him in a hour at Domino main square…"

_‚__A cloaked gangster…?'_ Tea's words hammered in Jesara's head.

„How did this happen!? The tournament haven't even started yet!" Yugi yelled and his friend's could tell from his face that the always nice and handsome little Yugi was more than pissed off right now.

„I don't know, Yugi… I'm sure Joey will tell us all about it when we meet him…" Tristan tried to calm him down a bit. Little Yugi nodded at him - he was so furious right now. How could anyone dare to force his best friend to duel and steal his beloved, rarest card?

„I'll meet you there… I need to stop by at home, change my outfit und grab my duel disk and deck." Jesara informed their friends as she turned on heel and ran off. „CU there! I'll hurry!" then she started a sprint, she didn't want to be late then. Soon she was out of sight.

When Jesara arrived home she hurried to change into her signature outfit; a black skinny jeans combined with a quite tight mauve coloured tank top and her favourite black leather jacket on top. Also she finished it with her three various studded leather belts which caressed her hips criss-cross and loose, attached to it: her duel monsters deck case. After she put on her studded ankle-boots Jesara turned around to head for her flat's door, but she suddenly halted when she discovered a little envelope in front of it. Was it there when she came home about 30 minutes ago? Did she miss it laying there? Had somebody slipped it beneath her door? Jesara curiously picked it up and examined it. The envelope looked like it was made of historic papyrus paper, what made her even more fierce; it felt too familiar. Jesara slowly and carefully opened it when she only found a single card - only one sentence, written in old Egyptian hieroglyphs.

"Don't tell them." She translated it and uttered the words out loud.

Her eyes were glued to those 3 words written on the card and it felt like an eternity. Whoever has sent this to her… what does he or she mean by _Don't tell them?_ Although she had a sneaking suspicion and her stomach felt like it turned three times in just 5 seconds, she tried her best to not even think about it. She scanned it for another moment without moving just one inch from where she stood. _'What is this all about…?' _She thought, before jogged her head to get rid of her woolly thoughts and left - her friends were waiting for her.

**/ At Domino main square**

Jesara just stepped out of the subway station of the main square, when suddenly an all too familiar voice could be loud and clearly heard all over the place. It seemed like it was everywhere and no where at the same time. _'Is this Kaiba?' _A giant blimp appeared on the sky, drifting slowly above the skyscrapers, casting a cloud over the place.

_'__He may be the biggest jerk on earth… but I have to admit he has a goddamn good taste for dramatics…'_ she thought while she watched the blimp above her with amber-olive irises. Kaiba's face appeared on two giant flatscreens on its bottom, staring down arrogantly to the busy streets of Domino.

"Welcome to my Battle City tournament! I hope you're all prepared to fight, but just the 8 best duellists will deserve it to qualify for the finals. There are only three days to go, duelists! In only two minutes you'll find yourself in a war zone and I expect only your best!" Kaiba's voice pronounced in his typical manner that she hated him so much for. Jesara couldn't stand his way to act, his arrogance and his lack of good manners. She lost count over how many times she rolled her eyes during his speech, when finally Kaiba officially declared the beginn of Battle City.

She curiously made her way through the crowded main square and prospected for her friends. It didn't take too long before she spottet Yugi, surrounded by a large crowd cheering on him. _'This little guy isn't loosing any time…'_ she chuckled to herself mentally when she approached him and pushed herself to the front through the crowd of people. He just started to duel - but who the heck was his opponent?

"Hey Tea." She whispered over the shoulder. of her female friend "The tournament just has started a minute ago and Yugi is already dueling? Who is this guy?"

When Joey spotted Jesara he immediately stood a way too close by her side. "Hey Jess… That guy? That's the jerk who stole my Red Eyes yesterday… Yugi challenged him to get my card back…" he tried not to scream, the blonde was furious and balled a fist at Yugi's opponent.

"I see…" she sighed, examining the man in front of Yugi. He maybe was in his end twenties, she guessed, and his hair had a light shade of lilac. "You know his name?" Jesara asked under her breath.

"He calls himself _Rare Hunter_, but I doubt that it's his real name…" Tea said with a low voice, looking to Jesara beside her. Jesara gasped when Tea's words met her ears, her mouth standing slightly agape. _'Did she really say Rare Hunter? B-but that's the name of his…'_

"This jerk has at least one full set of Exodia in his deck… his all stragedy is about collecting all five pieces to defeat his enemies…" the blonde explained. Joey's head had the colour of a tomato, his friends knew that he was close to exploding, his blood boiling inside of his veins. Keeping calm during such situations like this wasn't exactly one of his talents, but somehow it was a facet of his personality that made him somehow cute.

But Jesara didn't listen, her mind has gone crazy after hearing the '_name'_ of Yugi's challenger. Has this something to do with the mysterious letter she found in her flat? Don't tell them you know who those Rare Hunters are? She massaged her temples to calm her nerves at least one bit. Her thoughts shot through her head like an uncontrolled firework - no chance to get them straightened.

The duel was exciting, also nerve-wrecking. First luck wasn't on Yugi's side, but when his Alpha The Magnet Warrior attacked Rare Hunter's life points directly he lost his feat and tumbled to the ground. His life points dropped to zero - the duel was over. Tea, Joey and Jesara cheered and high-fived each other. "Congrats Yugi! We knew you'll win!" Tea yelled in excitement, she was met by Yugi's smile and a thumb-up.

But their excitement was interrupted by an ear-wrecking scream. Rare Hunter rose to his feet, but it seemed like he was fighting with his own head. His hands clinched his head, he groaned and screamed like he was suffering the worst-of-all-time-migraine. The gang stared at him in shock. What was going on? Finally a last, frighting scream left Rare Hunter's lips. A bright light appeared on his forehead; revealing an eye which looked identical to the one on Yugi's millenniums puzzle. His eyes were dull and blank.

"PHARAOH!" Rare Hunter chuckled. "I finally found you."

Yugi shot an angry glare towards him but didn't respond to his words.

"Yugi… Congratulations, you defeated one of my slaves… But be sure that he was one of my weaker ones." Rare Hunter continued. His voice sounded completely different - out of this world. It sounded like his and another more dominant voice were mixed together. "Next time you won't be so lucky and your puzzle will soon be mine! Hahahahahaha"

"What are you talking about!? Who are you!?" Yugi yelled and he realised by now that Rare Hunter wasn't himself anymore - he was controlled by something or someone. Just like Bandit Keith...

"I'm your worst nightmare, pharaoh. You have something what's meant to be mine and you soon will surrender your power to me." Rare Hunter answered and grinned at Yugi. "My family suffered for thousands of years and waited for your return, but you're not worthy enough to be pharaoh! You had your chance and now I'll claim what was ever meant to be MINE!"

"We'll see…" Yugi said calm but firm. "Who are you?! Tell me your name!"

"It would be a pleasure to me, pharaoh…" he snickered with a sarcastic undertone. "Remember my name, I'll make sure it gives you nightmares…"

Jesara's hand met her lips, trying to hold back a whimper. Was this really happening? Could just anyone wake her up from this nightmare? Her eyes were glued to Rare Hunter - or to whoever controlled him. But deep in her heart she already knew what all this was about and who was behind this… All those warning signs left no other possibility for her; she should have known better.

"My name…" Rare Hunter spoke up. "…is Marik."

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AN: Hope you enjoyed! :-) And now: Review!


	3. Chapter 3: What's meant to be forgotten

**AN:** Yesyes, back with another update. I'm quite motivated to update asap, I really liked writing this chapter and reveal another little detail about Jesara. Guess this chapter turned out quite good. I tried my best to write her first duel, but I won't get into details in the upcoming ones. You all know how they end up. Please review the story and let me know what you think.  
Please leave a review! It boosts my motivation!

**Chapter Updated: errors and details.** hope I found all of them :-)

* * *

**Chapter III**

**What is meant to be forgotten**

Jesara's eyes widened in shock, horror and disbelief sent a shock through every single centimeter of her slight features. What did this Rare Hunter say just 2 seconds ago? Did he really say out loud that his name - or better the name of the man that controls his mind - was _Marik_? Her hand still covered her mouth to hold back whimpers and screams - oh how much so wanted to scream right now at the top of her lungs. If she was on her own she'd love to punch the crap out of this jerk in front of her and deep down she wished someone would wake her up from this nightmare. She wished and expected to wake up soaked with sweat every moment, but it never happened. Her surroundings fell silent and only the beating of her racing heart echoed in her ears. Did _he_ already recognise her? She was sure he didn't - he was too focused on teasing Yugi - or to be correct: the soul that lives in the millennium puzzle and who meant to be the greatest pharaoh of all time.

"Be sure to remember my name, pharaoh. This is just a little setback. It's the beginning of something way more dangerous and we'll soon see each other again." His words etched from Rare Hunter's mindless lips with a chuckle. "And when we meet again I'll claim what was ever meant to be mine."

With those words Rare Hunter was released from the power that controlled him like a puppet which threads were cut off. He tumbled to the ground and his body didn't move a single inch. Her friends, Yugi and the crowd that surrounded them stared at him in shock - for a moment there was only silence.

"YEAH YUGIII!" Joey shouted out loud and broke the silence. "YOU DID IT!"

He ran over to his friend and hugged him. "I knew you'll find a way to beat the unbeatable Exodia!" The blonde cheered. Yugi smiled at him and patted his back. "Yes, it was an awesome duel, but this whole thing and this Marik don't promise any good…" Yugi said to him firmly. Then he walked over to the still unconscious Rare Hunter and grabbed Joey's Red Eyes Black Dragon from the cards that were spread all around him on the ground, such as one of his locator cards. Kaiba told them in his opening speech before that 6 of them are necessary to qualify for the finals and with every duel you can win at least one from your opponent.

"Here you go Joey." Yugi said when he handed the Red Eyes out to Joey. "Your Red Eyes, it's yours again." But Joey denied it with a head-shake.

"No Yugi, you won it. It's yours now." The blonde said. "It makes me proud to be a part of your deck now". Joey smiled softly at his friend, which eyed him in disbelief and arched a brow. Yugi's gaze soon turned into a thankful smile, then he nodded and slid the Red Eyes into his deck.

Tea and Jesara came over to them to tell Yugi their congrats. "Congratulations Yugi!" Tea cheered and also gave him a little hug. "Now you've got 2 locator cards! Only 4 to go!"

Jesara forced a smile to her lips while her stomach was still turning in all possible directions. Her body felt numb. If she weren't with her friends and in public right now she'd like to throw up. Her face was still pale like a ghost, even snow had more color than her cheeks right now.

"Congratulations, Yugi." She pressed out; it was just a whisper that escaped her throat.

Yugi nodded and smiled at her. "Thank you, Jess." He thanked her before recognising the pale face and uneasiness written to her gaze. "Jess? Are you alright…?"

"Oh, ahm. Yes, this whole mind controlling thing just scared the crap out of me…" she lied and forced a wry smile. Her friends believed and agreed with her. Yugi and the gang started to discuss this whole incident, questioning who the heck this Marik was. But Jesara recognised that suspicious glance, decorated with an arched brow from the pharaoh.

"How the hell did he manage to take control over this jerks body?" Joey asked, trying to find a natural explanation for what they've seen a few moments ago. Their words hammered in Jesara's head while she struggled with herself… how can she tell them what she knew? Will they hate her? Definitely. Will they forgive her? Nobody knew.

"Uhm Yugi... I…" she cut in stammering.

Her friends turned their gaze towards her, waiting for her to continue. "Yes Jess?"

But then three words shot through her mind. _Don't tell them._ The letter she found in her flat. Did it mean not to tell her friends about him and their connection that she left behind so long ago? Why? She could easily blow his whole plan, whatever his plan was. But maybe it was meant for good… She would find out sooner or later and for Ra's sake... this would possibly be the worst moment to be bombarded with questions. Within a split second she decided against it and to keep that secret for a bit longer.

"Jess?" Joey raised a brow at her. His words snapped her out of her thoughts and back to reality.

"Uhm… Nothing. I just wanted toooo… to tell you that I'll leave you now and look for some duels on my own." She put on a fake smile and winked at them. "Hope you don't mind. I'll text you later, guys. Take care!" Jesara said as happy as possible when she turned on heel, smiling and waving back at them. She soon disappeared in the crowd.

"Guys…" Joey spoke up. "Don't you also think that Jess is acting strange since yesterday…?" He muttered when his hand rubbed his chin suspiciously.

"A little bit… Maybe this whole magic thing really is too much for her…" Tea guessed, shrugging her shoulders and gesturing that she didn't really know.

Yami Yugi remained silent while he watched Jesara disappear in the crowd with a thoughtful and also curious gaze. Something was wrong about her. Little did he know _how wrong_ that something was.

/

_'__I can't believe what just happened…' _her inner voice whimpered when she turned into a small back alley. She leaned against the cold brick wall; finally she could give vent to her feelings. Her breath got heavier and one sigh after another left her throat between sobs. Calming herself down didn't seem to be possible right now. _'Let's recap… Marik totally lost his mind when he decided to be Pharaoh himself… the old scriptures said that he has to defeat him in a duel to claim his power… I ran away from him and made sure to put as much miles between him and me as possible… and now I just realised that I made friends with the Pharaoh and his vessel…'_ another sigh left her lips when also the back of head met the cold brick wall that she leant her body against. Her eyes went up to the beautiful blue sky above her. _'What the hell is wrong with you, fate?"_

Her hand harshly ran through her hair, it was impossible to get any clear thoughts right now. _'And who doesn't want me to tell Yugi and the others about my… connection to the one who wants to harm them? They would never talk to me again anyway… They'll think I lied to them since the day we met…'_

She slid down to her knees and put her head into her palms, covering her face as tears ran down her cheeks. Her mind was so fucked up right now.

_'__Wait a second…'_ she raised her head, looking at nothing in particular when one special thought crossed her mind. _'Didn't they say that a woman in the Egyptian exhibit told them who Yami really is… and was? Wasn't her name Ishizu…? When HE is after Yugi now then it's not only a coincidence that a woman called Ishizu is hosting an Egyptian exhibit right in front of the pharaoh's nose… It MUST be her…'_ she thought, raised to her feet and headed into the direction of the Domino museum.

She decided to take the shortcut through the small alleys. The streets were far too crowded because of the tournament. Jesara was sure to be faster this way and it would prevent her to come across another one of Marik's Rare Hunters. It was the least thing that she wanted right now...him knowing that she was here within arms reach. Her pace was faster as usual, but she didn't want to loose any more time.

After a few meters she turned left at the crossing of two back alleys. A dark silhouette in the middle of her way jolted her out of her thoughts - she stopped immediately.

"Hello pretty…" the silhouette in front of her said in a low voice.

Jesara tried her best to identify his face in the shadows of the dark alley - but to no avail. "Who are you?" She asked in an angry tone.

"That's nothing of your concern. Shuffle your deck, lady. It's time for a duel." He replied, ignoring her question and preparing his duel disk. It beeped and then switched into it's aktive duel mode.

"And why should I duel a jerk who refuses to tell me his name?" Her tone turned more harried. The man only chuckled in reply, his face was still hidden by the darkness of the alley. He wasn't very tall, his stature reminded her of a little boy. _'Who cares… when I want to qualify for the finals I have to duel sooner or later…'_ she said to herself when she also activated her duel disk.

"If you want… I won't be a big deal to kick a gutless jerk as you out of that tournament." She stated, her voice was filled with self-confidence.

The silhouette chuckled and made one step forward, his face then was met by a bit of light revealing his identity. Jesara bursted into laughter when her eyes met the face of Bones. "You're kidding me, right?" She deadpanned at him.

"What's so funny!?" the little guy in front of her narrowed his eyes. He didn't expect such a reaction from the girl.

"Ah nothing… I expected everything now, but not a child as you…" she replied at him, still giggling. "So, I guess you'd like to start, little boy?"

Bones grumbled, his opponents reaction noticeable annoyed him. "Nono, ladies first. You'll learn soon enough that things aren't always as they seem…"

"If you say so, Mr. Smith." Jesara drew her cards and inspected them, then she placed a monster card onto her glowing duel disk. "I summon Dark Valkyria - (1800 / 1050) in attack mode." She declared when a dark fairy-like creature appeared in front of her. "And I also place two cards face down on the field. Your turn, boy." She stated and gave her opponent a poker-face gaze.

"I summon my Evilswarm Heliotrope (1950 / 650) and attack mode and it will blow your valkyria from the field! Attack!" He yelled and commanded his creature to attack.

Jesara smirked at him. "You wish. Did you forget about my face-down cards? You activated my trap card." She declared and one of her face down cards flipped open. "I activate Draining Shield! This trap card hinders your creature to attack my Dark Valkyria."

Bones' eyes narrowed when a low grumble left his lips. "Well done, lady…" he muttered.

"But that's not the only effect of this card." She teased him once more with a self-confident smile. "It also adds the same amount of your monsters attack points to my life points, what makes it 5950 now."

You could tell from Bones' face that he didn't expect this. He then ended his turn in a bugged tone. "Your turn…"

"Sure, I'll make sure to end this duel right now. If you don't mind…" she said when she drew her next card. "Now watch this. I play the magic card Mausoleum of the Emperor. This card allows me to summon a high-level monster without sacrificing weaker ones. All I need to do is to pay 1000 life points for each non-sacrificed monster instead." She explained when a huge barock building appearing behind her. "So I'm paying 2000 of my life points to summon my rarest card. Guardian Angel Joanne! (2800 / 2000)"

A bright light appeared between them, feathers fell to the ground all over the place when a giant angel-like creature formed from the light.

"Joanne has also a special effect. When she destroys one of your monster his attack points will also be added to my life points. But it doesn't matter, I'll end this duel soon enough. I also activate the trap card Metalmorph. It adds the half of your monsters attack points to my Guardian Angel Joanne, plus an extra 300 attack points. What now makes it 4075 all together." Jesara smirked at him and then commanded her Guardian Angel Joanne to attack his Heliotrope, which shattered into thousands of pieces.

Bone's life points dropped to 2125, while hers rose to 5900. Her Guardian Angel's clothes were now made from a metal looking substance. Bones' eyes were filled with shock when his Heliotrope was send to the graveyard.

"And as you may know: according to the Battle City rules I'm able to attack you directly! Dark Valkyria, attack his life points!" She commanded and her dark fairy rushed forward, attacking her opponent with dark violet thunders. Bones' covered his eyes und cringed in reflex. "This duel is far from over!" He shouted after the attack from her creature.

"We both know that this is just a very bad bluff…" she answered with a faked charming smile just to vex him a bit more.

Bone's drew his next card and according to his gaze he had nothing in his hands that could possible save him from loose the duel. "Okay then… I play one monster face down in defence mode and another card face down." He declared before pass the turn to Jesara.

"You really bore me…" she sighed when she drew her next card, not even looking at it. "I command my Dark Valkyria to attack your face down monster!"

Within seconds his monster also shattered into pieces in violet thunders. "You only have 325 life points left and you know that it's over… Don't you want to surrender the duel now?" She asked kindly, knowing how the duel will end up.

"No, I'm loosing like a man…" he answered with his teeth gnashing.

Jesara's Guardian Angel attacked Bones', covering everything in bright light. When the blinding light vanished her two monsters were gone and the field between them was empty. The duel was over.

"So, I guess you owe me one of your locator cards and your rarest card…" she said while she approached the shocked tiny guy in front of her.

He gave her a quite embarrassed gaze, then he handed her his locator cards such as a magic card. "Here… this is my rarest card… The Mask of The Accursed." He explained. Jesara carefully looked at the magic card, then packed it away. "Thank you. It was a great duel." She tried to comfort him, but both of them knew he totally fucked up. He just grumbled one more before the walked away not saying any more word. Jesara looked after him before he was out of sight.

_'__Well, I guess I just need 4 more…'_ she thought when she scrubbed the back of her head with her left arm, then reality hit her like a wrecking ball. _'…but in the worst case… this tournament will be the very least thing I have to deal with…'_ Jesara then continued her way to the museum, but this time she decided to avoid the back alleys. Who knows which other jerks are lingering around in the darknesss.

**/ at Domino museum**

She found herself in a giant entry hall and posters of the Egyptian exhibit hung on each side of the busy room. Soon Jesara found the front desk where a nice looking woman stared into a computer. Her fingers typed some text and the clicking sound of her finger nails hitting the keyboard could be heard in the whole entry hall. She approached the desk to ask the lady where to find the woman called Ishizu, but she suddenly was stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She flinched and immediately turned around to see who dared to touch her, but then her eyes widened in shock when she stared into piercing blue ones. "Ishizu…?" Jesara whispered. In this moment she couldn't believe her eyes. "Is it really you?"

The woman with the beautiful blue eyes and sleek black hair nodded at her and giving her a slight smile. "Yes… It's been a long time."

Jesara returned the smile. "Ishizu… Did you know about my whereabouts? What about him? Is he coming here? What does Mar-" she totally lost control over her words, when she was cut off by Ishizu.

"Jesara, I know you're confused and anxious right now. But let's talk somewhere more private, okay?" Ishizu said softly and led Jesara through a big door which led to the Egyptian exibit wing. They passed stunning golden artefacts and ancient papyrus rolls, locked behind thick glass. The room light was dimmed and the artefacts were illuminated from golden spots that hung above them. They passed another door and Ishizu led her down a long staircase.

Finally she found herself in another big room and at the end of it she recognised three enormous stone panels, which were covered with hieroglyphs.

"Ishizu…" she gasped. "Aren't these the ancient panels from the tomb… You brought them here…?"

The black haired woman nodded and looked at the light grey haired girl. "Yes, the pharaoh needed to see them… It was easier to bring them here than the other way…" she explained. Jesara didn't say a word, she was fascinated by the ancient panels and couldn't stop staring at them.

"And now… let's talk about your questions." Ishizu's voice interrupted her thoughts. "I know you're confused… and I know you never wanted to see my brother again after all he put you through. But destiny has other plans for you…"

"What do you mean, Ishizu…" she looked into Ishizu's piercing blue eyes, waiting for her to explain. "What did your necklace tell you…?"

Ishizu sighed, her fingers gently brushed over her golden necklace, which had the same eye on it like Yugi's millennium puzzle. "My brother wants to claim the power of the pharaoh and take over the world…" she stated.

"Yeah…" Jesara sighed. "I know that..."

"His aim is to collect all of the three Egyptian god cards and win the millennium puzzle from Yugi. These cards and the puzzle are the key to the pharaoh's power… but I think you already know that too." Ishizu continued. "It was your destiny to make friends with our king and his vessel, my necklace showed me after you left my brothers side two years ago."

Jesara's eyes narrowed, her face turned more and more concerned. She wanted nothing more than to forget about her past, but now it was catching up on her and hit her like a sledgehammer. "Go on… please tell me what you know…"

"After you ran away my brother felt sorry for what he did to you when he lost control and deeply regretted his actions. My necklace showed me everything and I know that he still feels deeply for you, although it's buried under anger and hate…" Ishizu said softly and it was like her eyes were piercing deep into Jesara's soul.

What did she just say? Ishizu's words hit her like a speed train and hammered in her head again and again. "That's bullshit, Ishizu. No one would hurt the one he loves in such a cruel way." Jesara's voice was close to whispering.

"But it is… I know it's not easy to believe after everything that happened between both of you. But you may be the key to bring his good side back to the surface and hinder him to fulfil his plan. You may change his fate, which may end up in darkness and the apocalypse if you don't help him." Ishizu stated and rested her hands on Jesara's shoulder to comfort her. "My brother's anger is about to destroy him and the whole world. My necklace showed me that you could turn the tables and I really believe it."

Jesara looked to her in disbelief - things are getting stranger and stranger… "You're necklace must be broken, Ishizu."

"Jesara, come on." Ishizu urged with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Then… if everything's true what you said and your necklace is right… What do you want me to do…?" She asked with a more than concerned undertone in her voice, she clinched her fists beside her hips.

Ishizu sighed and closed her eyes, then opened them again and looked into Jesara's amber-olive coloured eyes, which were close to crying.

"Dig out what's hidden underneath his hate… you need to find a way to bring his good side back to the surface… I know he still has feelings for you and you may have enough influence on him und stop his plans… to get his mind straight…" she explained.

Jesara was shocked and looked at Ishizu like she just told her that the earth was a slice. "You want me to make him think that everything what happened is forgotten and we're fine? You're kidding, Ishizu…" she nearly screamed. That was a bad joke!

"No, I'm not kidding… And I'm not saying that you have to forgive him… I also didn't say that you both should make a new start… But you have the power to bring the true Marik to the surface again…" Ishizu explained, giving her a sorrowful gaze.

Jesara sighed and her eyes met the floor again, a shiver shot through her body and then a tear dropped to the floor - leaving a tiny wet stain on it.

"Ishizu… I don't think that I can even look him in the eye… How could I then stop him from his crazy take-over-the-world-plans?" She whimpered. "But I now understand why you didn't want me to tell Yugi and the others about my connection to him…"

Ishizu blinked at her and looked obviously confused. "Jesara, how did you think that I've sent you this letter…?"

Jesara immediately looked up and stared into Ishizu's piercing blue orbs in confusion. "You did not?" She pressed out.

Ishizu shook her head at her without saying a word.

"But I'm sure you know who did, don't you?" Jesara asked the black-haired woman.

"I guess I can't tell you this time… You'll find out soon enough." Ishizu gave her a warming smile.

/

When Jesara stepped out of the museum she stopped in front of it and recapped everything Ishizu has just told her. Her fears were becoming true. She su much hoped to never see him again, she just wanted to forget and now Ishizu says she's the only one to _save_ him from his own freaky plans.

_'__I guess destiny hates me… really really hates me…'_ she thought to herself when she continued walking. She decided to walk through the park that was situated in front of the museum. Her thoughts nearly drove her crazy and she still couldn't believe what just happened 30 minutes ago. Too much for just one day.

When she finally made her way through Domino central park she recognised a cluster of weird dark clouds and thunder about half a mile away from her.

_'__What the hell is that?'_ She stared at the dark clouds in front of her, it didn't look natural. It was a sunny, almost cloud-free day in spring. It wasn't the right season for thunderstorms… _'I hope it's not what I think it is…'_

Jesara started to jogg into the direction of the thunder clouds, anxious about what she'll find when she arrives.

/

She ended up at the main bridge to Domino and was shocked to find nobody else than Yugi dulling with a bald headed guy underneath it. But what concerned her the most was a giant red dragon above his opponent. _'That's Slifer The Sky Dragon…'_

The dragon was larger than everything she'd ever seen before, but it was all too familiar to her. She watched the ongoing duel from a knob beside them and made sure they didn't see her.

'_I can't believe Marik is playing a Egyptian god card... he's insane…'_ she thought when she stared at the giant dragon with widened eyes. _'I bet everything I have that this bald guy down there is controlled by him… and he forced Yugi to duel him…'_

Jesara's eyes drifted over to Yugi, who was caught in the Nightmare's Steelcase, which is one of the rarest spell cards in the game. He was in trouble and definitely struggling to stand tall against Marik and the Egyptian god Slifer The Sky Dragon. Then her eyes met Yugi's opponent, her stomach turned once more when she looked at him.

_'__I can't believe that he's just down there… right in front of me…'_

* * *

**AN: Hoped you enjoyed! Pls review :-)**


	4. Chapter 4: Too Close

**AN: **I'm proud of my motivation to write and write and write and give you the next update of this story! :D I don't know how many chapters this story may have, but I hope I can complete this FF before May, because my job is going to get f' busy then!

However. I was not sure about when to write their reunion and (spoiler altert!) I decided it was time to place their encounter in this chapter. I thought they will really need some time to build a relationship before the appearance of - you know :P

So, here it is! I hope you enjoy reading it. After all I think my writing and my descriptions are getting way better - now I found my flow. I'm so sorry that my first chapter was SO bad! *lol* But it's getting better! I promise!

Also thanks for the first reviews! I'm so excited that there really is somebody out there who reads this! Hahaha PS: I'm sorry if there are any auto-corrected fails in there. D:

Please review, let me have your thoughts and scene suggestions if you like!

**Chapter updated:** I changed a little detail because of a tiny error that wouldn't fit with the prequel that I'm writing right now. Also did some corrections in spelling and detail.

Xoxo

* * *

**Chapter IV**

**Too Close**

Jesara kept watching the ongoing duel from the eminence beside the two opponents, staring at the enormous crimson red dragon covering the dark, cloudy sky. Its giant two mouths and dangerous gaze made her shiver in respect and fear. She never saw an Egyptian god card in literally flesh & blood - floating in both ways elegantly and dangerously high above her little head. _'He must be crazy... playing an egyptian god card in the middle of the city against the Pharaoh.'_

Her heart bumped a hundred miles a minute while her attention was back on the bald headed stranger down there, which was obviously mind-controlled by Marik. She observed him curiously - he was there, right in front of her and still - hopefully - far away. Although she was just meters away from him she was thankful that both of them were too focused on their duel, so he didn't recognise her presence. Jesara felt safe watching the duel from the hill as long as she didn't make a sound.

Ishizu's words echoed through her head again. _'…he still feels deeply for you, although it's buried under anger and hate…'_ Jesara's hands balled into fists beside her when those words cut through her mind like a knife, burying her long fingernails into her palms and she still didn't believe one word of what Ishizu had said to her just about one hour ago. _'Bullshit...'_

Yugi was still caught in Marik's Nightmare's Steelcage , so he was unable to attack for at least 2 turns. Jesara's eyes wandered over to the card holograms in front of Marik to get a clue about his strategy and the pharaoh's chances to defeat him.

_'__Oh Ra… that looks bad… this card combination is almost unbeatable.'_ She thought when she saw Revival Jam, Jam Defender, Infinite Cards and The Card of Safe Return in front of Marik's emotionless mind-slave.

"Where's the rest of Yugi's little nerdy fan club?" A familiar voice behind her startled her from her thoughts and made her turn around. Two piercing blue irises locked with hers as she watched Kaiba approaching her.

"Kaiba… Mokuba… What are you doing here? I thought you were busy working on your bad manners?" Jesara spat and narrowed her eyes, giving the tall CEO a frowning glare.

The young brunette just smirked arrogantly and seemed unfazed by her little insults, making her to feel more annoyed about his company. Kaiba stood beside Jesara and stared at the god dragon above them in fascination. "Kaiba Corp satellite system informed me that another egyptian god card was played in a duel against little Yugi…" he explained in his typical cool tone. "That's why I'm here."

Jesara gasped and stared at Kaiba beside her with widened eyes. _'Wait a second - another god card?' _She shrieked mentally. "Kaiba, what do you mean with _another_?" She asked curiously, holding her breath awaiting his answer.

"In case you didn't know, but I also hold the power of an egyptian god monster… Obelisk the Tormentor." Kaiba stated without even looking at her, his eyes were still glued to the crimson red dragon.

_'Obelisk... That's the card Marik wanted so badly and lost his mind completely when he failed stealing it... __Where the hell did Kaiba get this card from? He should've never known about their existence…'_ she thought and took a deep breath. "So, I think this card cost you a million? Those god cards seem to be unbeatable…" she muttered and tried to sound like she didn't knew anything about the whole thing. Jesara knew Kaiba never skipped a chance to state how wealthy, extraordinary and kinglike he his, if she played dumb enough he'll tell her everything to push his own ego to the limits.

"No, this confused woman in the museum gave it to me during her ridiculous story time." He strictly said as his signature smirk formed on his thin lips. "I think she knew only an outstanding duelist like me could control the power of an egyptian god card!"

Jesara mentally face-palmed and rolled her eyes in response to his super-cocky statement. _'You're such a jerk… You're lucky that I can't kick your rich ass right now, how dare you to talk like that about Ishizu…'_ she balled her fists again and gave him another angry glare. Oh how much she wished that she could just wring his neck right now. After his disrespectful statement about Ishizu she really needed all her self-control to keep her rage at bay.

Then a big BANG caught her attention. Slifer The Sky Dragon attacked one of Yugi's monsters. Was this the end of the duel? Did Marik win? A big dust cloud covered Yugi's side of the field, not allowing Jesara and Kaiba to see what happened to him. Was it over? Did the Pharaoh loose the duel? Hopefully not. The bald headed mind slave just stared at his opponent, still without any signs of emotions drawn to his pale, pierced face.

When the dust cloud liftet it revealed Yugi, standing tall and wearing a promising, self-confident smirk on his lips. Did he find a way to beat an unbeatable card combination and an Egyptian god? Or was it just a bluff?

"Marik! You are close to loose this duel! And I found a way to beat your dragon!" Yugi yelled, when suddenly Revival Jam formed in front of him and came back to life after the attack.

"I took control over your Jam! And if I'm right you have to draw another three cards from your deck after he reformed!" He stated and pointing his finger towards Marik, still smirking. Jesara gasped in surprise. _'Of cause... that's it!' _Within seconds she knew what kind of strategy Yugi had in mind to turn the tables.

"That's right, Pharaoh. Thank you for giving another 3000 attack points to my dragon, that's very nice of you! I didn't expect it was so easy to beat you." The mind-slave teased back when he drew three more cards.

"You wish, Marik!" Yugi was now close to laughing. "Revival Jam just reformed again on MY side of the field, what forces Slifer to attack with his second mouth!"

He was right. Slifer's top mouth opened and a huge fire ball was shot towards Yugi and his Revival Jam, once again leaving just a huge dust cloud. When it lifted again Yugi's opponents gaze turned from an emotionless into a shocked one. By now also Marik knew what that meant.

"And because I have the control over your Jam, it will reform on my side of the field, forcing you to draw three more cards. Then your dragon will attack again, my Jam gets back to life, you draw. You're caught in an endless loop, Marik! It's over!" Yugi yelled, his face was confident of his victory.

Nothing but an annoyed grumble left his opponents lips when he again drew three more cards and Slifer prepared for another attack against Revival Jam.

"He truly IS the king of games… Yugi's found a way to beat an egyptian god…" Jesara whispered and watched how the duel turned into an endless loop of attacking, revival, attacking and repeat. When the bald headed mind-slave of Marik had no more cards to draw the duel was over; Slifer let out an ear-piercing scream before he fell to the ground and then he and all other cards on the field vanished slowly. Yugi wore his typical poker-face and waited for a reaction of his mind controlled opponent, who fell to his knees - surrounded by the cards the had dropped.

"My congratulations, Yugi! You've figured out how to beat an unbeatable god card! We both will duel here and now for it! Because this card is meant to be in MY deck!" Kaiba shouted towards Yugi, who did't recognise him and Jesara standing on tip of the hill beside them - until now. And so did his opponent. Jesara cringed, a shock shot through every bone of her body when Kaiba started to shout towards Yugi. Could he just please act a little bit more unobtrusive? Mr. All-Eyes-On-Me might just presented her on a silver plate without him knowing.

"Kaiba, you're such an impatient jerk… couldn't you wait until they're finished?" Jesara hissed at the young CEO beside her, then she again turned her head to look down to her friend, but before her eyes met Yugi's, they locked with the blank ones of Marik's mind-slave. Too late.

She gasped and didn't dare or rather wasn't able to breath; it felt like an invisible pair of hands compressed herr throat, hindering her to breath. Jesara's amber-olive eyes widened in shock, unable to move just one inch when she stared into those sickening two blank orbs. Seconds felt like an eternity, all she heard were the intensive beats of her heart, which were about to blow up her head. It left her trembling in fear.

"I-" she stuttered "I- I need to… to go." Jesara then immediately broke eye-contact, turned on heel and ran as fast as she could, leaving Yugi and Kaiba lokking after her in confusion.

She ran and ran and ran - without any specific destination. Jesara just ran like her life depended on it. After a few minutes of running she reached the central district of Domino when she finally lowered her pace and then stopped by a small allée. Jesara was close to collapsing and completely out of breath when her palms met her knees crouching herself a bit down, fighting for air.

_'__He saw me… did he recognise me…? Oh Ra, of course he did. Marik isn't an idiot...'_ She fought. _'I was so not ready for this… how can someone's life be turned upside down in just 48 hours like that…?'_ A few tears started to gather in her eyes, but in the corner of them she saw someone approaching her.

"What a nice surprise! Aren't you a friend of Yugi Mutou?"

Jesara looked up when her eyes met a small brunette boy who wore a green jacket, blue jeans and a red collared hood.

"I'd be lying if I told you I'm glad to see you…" she mumbled, still fighting for air. "What do you want, Rex?"

"What about a little duel? I heard how you kicked Bones' ass. You have some cards in your deck I'm really have an itch for, dear Jess!" Rex stated, his arms crossed in front of his chest. A confident grin played on his lips as he stared down at her.

"Not now, Rex. I really have other important things to do right now… Maybe tomorrow." Jess sighed and waving her hand in apology.

"You know that according to the battle city rules it's not allowed to refuse someone's challenge?" Rex smirked at her and then held up two of his locator cards to present them to Jesara. "What about doubling the bet and fight for two locator cards?"

She gave him a annoyed glare before a deep sigh left her throat. _'I really don't have the nerves to deal with this idiot right now… but I guess Kaiba's dumb tournament rules don't leave me any choice…' _she thought and with a click on her duel disk she prepared to face her challenger. _'Or maybe I can calm my nerves and get my mind off of…Marik…'_

Jesara and Rex were ready for the first turn and it did't take long until a crowd of bystanders surrounded them.

**/ meanwhile on a ship, a few miles apart from Domino harbour**

A deep violet cloak waved in the rough winds, sandy blonde strands wafted around tanned skin, His violet orbs were filled with anger and shock. His muscly arms, decorated with golden jewellery, clinched his head when a deep grumble left his lips.

"How did it happen to loose this duel although I had an egyptian god card in my deck!?" He yelled out loud, his voice full of wrath. "I'll make you pay for this, Pharaoh! This is only a little setback!"

"Master Marik…" a low voice spoke up behind him. It belonged to a way taller guy than Marik, also a little more bulky. His face was covered by the hood of the same deep violet cloak like Marik's.

"What is it, Odion!?" Marik spat, but didn't turn around to look at him.

"We're about to arrive at Domino in about 30 minutes." The man, who's name seemed to be Odion stated. His voice was calm - he didn't want to give his master any other reason to be furious about.

Silence.

Marik's palms met the railing of the ship's deck in front of him, his hands clinching it tightly. After a few moments he spoke up again in a slightly calmer tone, but still unamused.

"Odion… you scanned every participants profile & duelists ID's of Kaiba's tournament when our computer specialist hacked into his system, didn't you?" Marik asked the man behind him while his eyes stared out into the ocean in front of him. In the distance the harbour of Domino was already in sight, coming closer with every minute.

"Yes, Master Marik…" Odion approved to the sandy blonde teen in front of him, which back was still facing him. "Why do you ask, master?"

"Anything suspicious?" Marik muttered.

"Nothing…" Odion replied, but his face became more and more concerned.

"Then you didn't do your job correctly!" the sandy blonde teen yelled and turned around to give his servant a furious glare. Marik rose up his millennium rod and held it in Odion's direction, it's golden eye on top of it reflected the daylight.

"M- Master Marik, what do you mean?" Odions voice sounded more nervous now, but he tried his best to keep calm.

"Don't tell me you missed one special person we both know!" He shouted and his gaze grew darker and darker every second.

"I apologise if I made a mistake, master. I didn't mean to disappoint you. But I still don't know who you're talking about?" Odion's eyes were still glued to the ship's pavement avoiding any eye-contact with his master.

"I'm talking about _her_." Marik growled, lowering his millennium rod and turning his gaze back to the ocean again. "She's here… Jesara is in Domino City - and she's a friend of the enemy."

Odion's eyes finally met his master with a concerned and also surprised expression. "That's true? Did you see her, master Marik?"

"I think so…" Marik muttered when his lavender orbs gazed back at Odion once more. "She wore a duel disk on her arm, what means she's participating in the tournament. And THAT means you must have seen her in the database!"

Odion bowed in apology in front of his angry master. "I'm sorry, master. I guess I overlooked her or something… I apologise for my mistake."

Only a low growl escaped from Marik's throat when the moment when Jesara's amber-olive eyes locked with his lavender orbs replayed on his mind. _'It's been almost two years… I never knew where she's gone. And Ra, I expected to never see her again. But those eyes are unmistakable…'_

"This makes it a whole new game…"

**/ back in central Domino**

"And with that, my dear Rex, the duel is over… you loose." Jesara stated when her Slate Warrior and Dark Valkyria faded away. "It was a great duel."

"Nooohooohooo! You're kidding me! I lost!?" Rex Raptor was out of his mind and whined out loud. His palm met his face in disbelief. He was a national champion, did he really loose a duel to someone without any champion title?

Jesara walked over to him wearing a gentle smile. "I'm sorry for you, Rex. I guess I just kicked you out of the tournament?"

"Yes, you guessed right." Rex muttered and handed her his two locator cards and one of his duel monsters cards. "Here, you deserved them. My two locator cards and my rarest card; Widespread Ruin."

Jesara gently took them from Rex and carefully inspected them. "Thank you, Rex. I wish you all the best."

The young guy only growled once more before he turned his back towards her and started to walk away. Jesara smiled at the price in her hands, but reality soon obtained her again. _'Marik…'_ his name cut through her thoughts like a razor-blade.

The sun already hung low above the Domino skyline, dipping it into golden light. It was late and Jesara wondered about where her friends were right now.

_'__I hope they don't mind my behaving of the last two days… I guess they're already suspicious.' _She thoughts and lowered her amber-olive coloured eyes towards the pavement. Once again she was lost in her thoughts, when a familiar voice snapped her back to reality.

"Jess! There you are!" Tea shouted and ran over to her, she was in company of Joey and Mr. Mutou.

"Oh hi! I was wondering about your whereabouts!" Jesara forced a gentle smile. "How are the duels going, Joey?"

The blonde started to grin and and presented his five locator cards to Jesara. "I guess I'm just one step away from the finals!" He cheered.

"Wow, that's impressive! How did you manage to get these in such a short time?" Jesara wondered, holding up her four locator cards. "But I'm close in on you!"

"Great! Four locator cards! Congratulations, Jess!" He grinned and gave her an unexpected hug, but she managed to wiggle herself out of his grip without being too impolite.

"Thank you…" she smiled at her friends, her cheeks still a bit blushed from Joey's hug. His crush on her made her feel flattered, but also uncomfortable. For her he was a good friend, but nothing more. Maybe he'll understand one day.

"What about getting an iced chai latte in a nearby café and you tell me all about your duels, Joey?" Jesara suggested smiling at her friends. Tea, Mr. Mutou and Joey nodded and the four friends made their way to the nearest place to grab something to drink.

**/ back on the ship**

Marik's yacht just landed at Domino harbour and was parked in a local hangar to remain undetected. The sandy blonde teen switched his clothes to a light purple top with two golden chains attached to the chest area, such as black pants and shoes. His golden earrings hung elegantly beside his well defined face, the golden egyptian looking jewellery on his throat and arms completed his 'civil' style.

Some of his rare hunters offloaded a crimson coloured chopper from the large yacht, one of them bowed in front of the young master when he handed him his helmet.

"Any further instructions for us, master Marik?" His servant asked in a respectful tone, still bowing before him and his eyes looking down at the pavement."

"I expect you to bring me Yugi's little friends, Tea Gardner and Joey Wheeler." He commanded when Marik put on his helmet.

"As you wish, Master Marik." The servant nodded.

"And make sure to bring me another one of his friends. Her name is Jesara and she's probably with them. I expect you to bring her to the yacht, lock the other two into the cellar until further instructions." Marik explained and took a seat on his chopper, his servant only bowed and nodded once more.

"I'll send you to the shadows when there's only a scratch on her. I want you to bring her here unharmed." He growled once more before he started the engine and a loud noise filled the hangar. Then he sped off, leaving his rare hunters looking at each other in confusion.

Marik reached Domino downtown in no time and decided to drive through some back alleys and perform some wheelies - it's been a while since he drove his beloved motorcycle, so he wanted to enjoy it even more.

His tires squeaked when the chopper turned at a crossing, but it suddenly came to a halt when a white haired stranger blocked his way. Marik gave him an annoyed glare when he stood up from his motorcycle and took off his helmet; he then grabbed the millennium rod, which was stowed in a side-bag of the chopper.

"You're blocking my way!" Marik stated and took a few steps towards the stranger, who was just smirking at him. "Who are you?"

"I'm an ancient soul and some king of a collector… and you have something I want." The white haired teen explained still smirking at the sandy blonde. "Hand over your millennium rod and I'll let you pass!"

Marik just laughed at him and raised a brow. "That's a good one! How about… no? Why don't we start with your name, when you don't mind?"

"Ha! If you wish… my name is Bakura. And if you don't mind I'll force you to hand over your item!" He declared with an evil grin.

"I'm curious about how you want to do so, dear Bakura." Marik teased him and crossed his muscly arms in front of his chest.

A bright light enlightened from Bakura's chest, revealing his millennium ring. "As you see you're not the only one who's in possession of an ancient item… And now hand it over!" He yelled and narrowed his brown eyes.

Marik chuckled as if Bakura just told a joke. "I don't think so…" he paused and looked at the golden rod in his hands. "But I guess we could make a deal." Marik said and turned his piercing lavender orbs back to Bakura.

"A deal? Do I look like I'd make a deal with you?" Bakura spat and crossed his pale arms.

"I'll give you the millennium rod when you can get me something I want." Marik now wore his emotionless poker-face to confuse the white haired teen in front of hime. "Duel for me and win the cards that I want. If you do so I promise to give my millennium rod to you."

"I guess you're not talented enough when you need someone else to duel for you." Bakura smirked at Marik and let out a small laugh. "But your suggestion sounds easy."

Marik nodded, still wearing his poker-face. "There's one more thing I want you to do for me. I need you to get me closer to Yugi and his friends. It's part of my plan that these fools think I'm a friend for them."

"Pfff…" Bakura muttered. "Well, if that's all you want I guess we have a deal… and I already have an idea how to get closer to little Yugi's friends." He grinned.

**/ meanwhile at a local cafe**

Tea, Joey and Jesara just grabbed a coffee to go and wandered through the streets of Domino.

"Sounds like you had quite strong opponents today. I have to admit that I'm impressed." Jesara said while sipping her iced chai latte. Joey grinned at her and his ego seemed to explode.

"What about you, Jess?" Tea asked while they were still wandering through the streets of Domino.

"That's a long story, Tea… I'll tell you tomorrow, but it happened too much today and I'm really tired…" Jesara replied with a gentle smile, trying to cover her concernment.

"Oh…okay?" Tea blinked at her. "Jess, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, you acted a bit strange lately…" Joey determined too, looking over to Jesara awaiting her response.

"Uhm, i-it's only…" she paused and fixed her eyes on the pavement. "It's just this super scary thing with those Rare Hunters, mind controlling thing… Yugi dueled this Marik jerk again and I watched it… I have to admit that it really scared the crap out of me… also his egyptian god monster thing…" she explained. _'I wish I could tell you more, but at least I'm not lying…'_

"What? This guy is nasty!" Joey yelled and balled his fist and punched the air in front of him. "He dueled this jerk once more? Did he win?"

Jesara nodded at him. "Yes, of course."

"That's my grandson! I'm so proud of him!" Mr Mutou shouted out loud and clapped his hands in excitement.

_'__But I guess this is far from over…'_ she thought while Jesara focussed her eyes onto the bottom of her now empty to-go-mug.

"Hey! Isn't this… Bakura!" Tea screamed in horror, making Jesara to look up and see what was going on. Tea was right - it was Bakura! Tea, Joey and Mr. Mutou ran over to him. The white haired teen was in her class, but she didn't know him well enough to call him a friend. There was something about him she couldn't trust. He seemed to be injured, there was a bandage around his arm and he wasn't able to walk on his own. There was another guy who helped him walk.

The other boy had adorable long sandy blonde hair and his skin was perfectly tanned. His muscular arms were elegantly hugged by various golden armlets - WAIT - this was far too familiar. Her Jesara's eyes shot wide open in shock when she realised WHO this boy was. She would remember those lavender irises even in a hundred years.

No. No no no no no no!

"So, you know this guy?" Marik looked up to Tea and Joey, who stood now beside them and helped to sit Bakura down. "I found him in a back alley and tried my best to make sure he's ok."

Jesara stood about 5 meters behind her friends and her eyes were still glued to what was right in front of her. At this moment she wasn't able to think straight. Everything happened in an almost sickening time lapse. And then…

… Marik looked up at her and his lavender orbs locked with shocked amber-olive ones. Jesara wasn't even able to breath, her body froze - unable to move. After almost two years she was staring into his lavender eyes again - and she didn't even miss it for just a single second… until now. It felt like her heart was racing a Formula 1, she was close to a heart attack. Her palms began to sweat and all she could hear was… BUMP… BUMPBUMP… BUMP… Never did she wish for a hole in the ground to just crawl up and die like in this particular moment.

"We need to get him into a hospital. I'll get a taxi and bring Bakura there…" Mr. Mutou interrupted her schock-moment. At this Jesara finally broke eye-contact and stared down at the pavement again, silently hoping for the _'If I don't see you, you might not see me'-_principle to work.

"Thank you for helping our friend! We really appreciate it." Tea said softly and giving the sandy blonde stranger a warming smile.

A taxi just stopped by after Mr. Mutou tried to wave for the drivers attention. He helped to get Bakura in and then sat beside him in the back of the cab. "I'll call you later and tell you how he's doing!" Mr. Mutou said before the taxi drove off.

Jesara still didn't move, her bangs hung into her face covering her eyes while she still eyeballed the pavement in shock. She just couldn't believe what was going on. Did she really just ran into _him?_ Was this really happening now?

"No big deal, really. I hope he gets well soon." Marik said in his most charming voice and smiled at Joey and Tea. His faked nice-guy acting made her stomach turn three times at once.

"I'm Joey Wheeler, by the way. And what's your name, buddy?" The blonde asked kindly and stretched out his hand for a shake.

"I'm Namu! Nice to meet you." Marik lied, still wearing the smile of an angel.

"My name is Tea. And thank you once more!" She said kindly and also took Marik's hand for a shake.

Jesara gasped when she suddenly felt a hand grabbing hers as Joey dragged her towards them. "Joey! Stop it!" she yelled when she almost stumbled in front of her number one persona non grata. They came to a stop beside Tea and in front of the charming blonde with the stunning lavender orbs. Jesara cringed when she suddenly felt Joey's hand around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"And this is our friend Jesara!" Joey grinned towards Marik when Jesara's head turned deep red. With one single, rough move she removed Joey's hand from her waist and put a few inches of distance between them. Then she forced herself to look into those lavender eyes, which were all too familiar to her and all she wished for was to never meet them again. Jesara tried her best to not make this situation more awkward than it already was. _'Just act like you don't know him...'_

"H-Hi.." She stuttered, not able to find any other words while she tried to act as natural as possible. Her slight hands trembled beside her hips and every attempt to control it failed bitterly. Nervously she bit her bottom lip and tried to hold back a scream.

"Hi." Marik greeted and held out his hand for Jesara to shake. His warming smile that played so well on his tanned lips gave her goosebumps along with the wish to just bitchslap him right here and now.

She wished she could slap his hand away right now, shouting at him and throw every possible insult at him. But something else within her gave her that warming feel like it was... _happiness to see him?_ Jesara couldn't explain her feelings to herself right now. It was like somebody threw all of them into a mixer and ran it at full-speed. That was an absolute nightmare.

Jesara slowly rose her hand and finally grabbed Marik's for a shake, which was attached to incredible well toned arms and… _'Gosh, Jess! STOP IT!'_

"I'm Namu." He said in a warming tone, although his smile now seemed to be forced. His lips wore this almost compelling charming smile, but the expression in his eyes told her something else.

_'Namu... are you kidding me!?'_ She groaned mentally at his ridiculous choice of an undercover-name.

Jesara's cheeks were still blushed when she kept staring into his eyes. He definitely looked more mature and well… as good as usual… just like she had last seen him almost two years ago. Her heart still bumped a hundred miles a minute hitting against her ribcage without mercy.

"Uhm" Marik stuttered and blushed slightly. "May I have my hand back?"

Jesara blinked at him in confusion. She then looked down at their hands, hers was still holding his in a tight grip. "Oh, sure…" she murmured and released his tanned hand and looked down to the ground. _'Keep calm, Jess…'_

Tea and Joey blinked at them, why did they act so strange? Joey raised a brow at them and one could read from his face that jealousy burned within him.

The silence was interrupted by Marik's voice, his finger pointed at behind the three friends in front of him. "Hey, look out! Who are those guys!?"

Tea, Joey and Jesara turned around when they saw three men approaching them, all of them dressed in a deep violet cloak. First Joey was detained by the tallest of the Rare Hunters, holding the blonde in a tight grip. And also Tea couldn't manage to escape the cloaked men. One of them held her tight and smashed her phone, which shattered into pieces.

"Hey! How dare you!" She yelled when she struggled to break free, but to no avail. "Don't fucking touch me!"

The third of the Rare Hunters seized Jesara's wrist and turned it around until she gasped in pain, unable to move. She looked over to Marik, who was also held tight by a Rare Hunter, but she knew that he was just acting… THIS all was part of his plan, but how did she and her friends fit into it?

She gave him a wrathy glare, but all she saw was the hint of a smirk on his face when their eyes locked again. Suddenly the sharp taste and odour of chemicals filled Jesara's eyes and nose. The voices of her friends became more and more dull and her vision became blurry within seconds.

The last thing she saw was the blurry silhouette of Marik before she fell into silence and the world around her went black.

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**AN:** :P there you go! How did you like it! Sorry for the cliffhanger, chapter 5 is already in the making and will be online soon. I already have a lot of ideas for the details and how Jesara and Marik will act when they're alone.

Btw, this chapter was a bit inspired by the song "We Don't Have To Dance" by Andy Black. You can youtube it if you want :-) I think it fits well.


	5. Chapter 5: Like Lights & Shadows

**AN:** I'm sorry that Chapter 5 took me a while, but I was a bit stuck with Marik's and Jesara's conversation in this chapter. But I really love how this chapter turned out. In this one I'll reveal a lot of details of their past and their connection. But trust me, there are a lot of more details that will be revealed in later chapters :P I love breadcrumbs!

In this chapter I also have to warn you: It contains a bit of physical violence and If you don't like blood... don't read it. You have been warned, guys.

Also a big thank you for the reviews & the favouring of the story! I'll try to update soon!

And now: Enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think! pls review :-)

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**Chapter V**

**Like Lights & Shadows**

And then, there was only silence in the pitch black darkness.

A flickering warm light enhanced the blackness and revealed a long, dark corridor. The walls and the floor were made from ancient bricks, in some spots they were decorated with old egyptian symbols and hieroglyphs.

Piercing cries shot through the lonely hallways - nothing else filled the darkness within them, just the fire torches every 20 meters enhanced it and dipped them into a yellow, glimmering light. The painful echoes could be heard in the whole complex for hours.

Odion's hands and cloak were stained with dark red liquid when he soaked a piece of medicated cotton in pure alcohol to disinfect the deep wounds which covered Jesara's back. Regret was written to his olive eyes and he was well aware of the fact that everytime he touched her would cause her more pain. He didn't want to hurt her, but there was obviously no other way to help her right now. Once more he dabbed the saturated piece of wool on her back, followed by another painful cry as the alcohol burned like fire in her wounds.

Jesara buried her face into her pillows and clenched her teeth, hoping it would cover her screams just a little. She never felt such a sharp pain in her life. Her bare back was covered with dried blood while fresh red liquid ran down her sides. She laid on her bed, belly down and nothing but her blood covered her tanned skin.

"I'm sorry, Miss Jesara…" Odion muttered in a low voice, sorrow resonated in the undertone. "I've never seen Master Marik losing control like this before…"

"Don't apologise, Odion… Especially not for him. It's not your fault. If I want to hear an apologise I want to hear it from _his _mouth…" Jesara gasped in pain between heavy breaths. "But it wouldn't change anything… there's nothing he or you can say to change what happened. Things won't ever be like they were from now on…"

"Then I apologise for my mistakes, which caused this…mess." He said in the same low, regretful tone. For a second he paused cleaning her wounds. "But I also thank you for your courage to do what've done for me. You didn't need to…"

"Odion, please… Don't apologise…" she whined when the alcohol touched her wounds again, making her feel a burning pain. Strands of her dark hair were soaked with dried blood, covering half of her face when her pain filled eyes met Odion's. The look in her irises told everything.

"I didn't expect he'd really… punish me… like he would have punished you, or his other servants… But it's ok, you're safe and that's all that counts…" she sighed painfully and buried her face into her stained pillows again.

Again piercing cries filled the dark underground place they were in. They lasted for 3 more hours. Odion tried his best to stitch her deep wounds as carefully as possible - but to no avail. He could do nothing to ease her pain right now.

After three hours which felt like an eternity he finished stitching and started to wrap Jesara's upper body with bandages. Her hands clinched into the bed sheets, which were made from luxurious Egyptian silk, stained with lots of blood. She never felt so exhausted, helpless and bruised - physically and mentally. Jesara wasn't sure which wounds would take longer to heal; those on her skin or those on her soul.

"Odion…" she murmured when he was almost finished with covering her wounds with bandages.

"Yes, Miss Jesara?" He replied in a gentle, respectful voice.

"Odion please… stop calling me Miss. You know I hate that…" she sighed when she hung her head in frazzle. "I need you to do me a favor… it won't be easy, but I beg you with all my heart. Could you promise me that?"

Odion's eyes met the back of Jesara's head, not sure what to expect next. He wasn't sure about what her _favor_ might be. "What is it… Jesara?"

"Don't tell anyone about this, especially not Marik." She stuttered and blinked at Odion over her bandaged shoulder. "I want you to help me to get away from here. As far away as possible. Please help me to escape unnoticed and make the necessary arrangements… Whatever it takes. Money won't be the problem."

His eyes locked with her in dismay. Right now he didn't really know what to respond to her plea, but how could he be miffed about her idea to leave and never return.. For a few seconds there was only silence between the two Egyptians.

"Please, Odion. I can't stay here… and you know that…" she said softly. "Even if that means we'll never see each other again."

"Are you sure…Jesara? Do you really want to do that?" Odion whispered, he really didn't want anybody to hear them talking about Jesara's possible getaway. "He would be out of his mind when he finds out..."

Her gaze darkened. "I really don't care for that, Odion. No more..."

"You should get some sleep and rest… I'll do my best to make the arrangements for you." He whispered again and then cleaned up the mess of blood stained cotton and first aid accessories that clustered the cold floor beneath his feet. "I'll let you know when everything's ready…"

Odion then stood up and went towards the exit of her room, looking over his shoulder to meet her pain filled eyes once again. He saw gratitude and the hint of a smile in her gaze. But he already started to miss her. He promised to always take care and look after her and Marik with all his might and even death wasn't a threat for him as long as he knew they both were safe. It made him sick that he was about to break that promise.

"Thank you, Odion…" she whispered and slowly lay herself down in cautious moves, her whole body still hurt and felt sore like hell. With a _click_ she knew Odion just left the room and left her to herself.

Jesara closed her tear filled eyes and after only a few minutes she drifted off into a deep slumber. Again everything around her went black slowly.

/

She inhaled deeply when she awoke from her dream and lifted upright from where she way lying, panting for air like she'd just finished a marathon. Her vision was still a bit blurry and all Jesara was able to see were her slight fingers clasping the soft material that covered the bottom half of her body in her hands. It was fine egyptian silk, nothing in this world felt better on the skin like this material. It's been years that she felt that unmistakable softness on her skin. Where was she? This didn't feel like her bedsheets, it didn't even smell like it… Her eyes were still trying to focus as she scanned her blurry surroundings.

"How are you?" A familiar voice asked from across the room.

Jesara knew to whom this voice belonged and her heart skipped a beat when those three words met her ears. Slowly she lifted her head and tried to focus on the corner to her right side, which she was sure the voice came from. And there he was. Shoulder-long sandy blonde hair, perfectly tanned skin and his piercing lavender orbs stared into hers. Slowly her vision got sharper and a soft growl escaped from her throat as she realised who pleased her with his company. Marik was sitting in a modern, deep violet lounge chair with his legs crossed elegantly. His hand held a glass with amber coloured liquid and ice cubes. His expression was firm, she didn't detect any emotion written in it. The softness in his gaze from earlier had vanished completely.

"Don't tell me you even care…Marik." Jesara muttered when her eyes narrowed at him, giving him a displeased glare.

"And if I told you I do care?" Marik answered still in a severe tone, his well defined face now wore a slight smirk and his pointed golden earrings jiggled dainty along his jawline when he tilted his head a bit to the right, his lavender eyes still locked with hers.

At this Jesara clenched her teeth and exhaled a deep sigh when her slight fingers touched her forehead in pain. Her head hurt like a speed train hit her twice or even worse. "Oh Ra..." She moaned under her breath.

Marik lifted himself up from the fancy chair and took three well calculated steps towards her. Suddenly she felt like he sat down on the bed beside her. Jesara stiffened; every centimetre less distance between them filled her with more unease.

"Chloroform could be tricky, the headache must be a living hell. I'm sorry for that, but it was necessary." Marik said in the same cool tone and handed her a glass of water from the nightstand and a little baby-blue pill. "You should take one of these pain killers, it will get you rid of the headache in no time."

Her amber-olive eyes met his lavender ones once more, fret still filled her expression. But there was also another emotion inside of her that intensified with every second that passed by: fury.

"Where am I?" She asked with sharpness in her tone, ignoring his offering of water and pain killers.

"In my quarters… where're you're actually supposed to be." He returned like it was absolutely obvious and not a big deal.

"Don't mess with me, Marik… where _exactly_ am I?" She asked again and added more emphasis to her words. Her amber-olive eyes galred daggers at the blonde beside her.

"Stop asking and take these…" Marik replied, discounting her question. He held the glass of water and the pill closer to her.

Within a second Jesara slapped it out of his hand and the glass shuttered into hundreds of shards, leaving a dark wet stain on the carpeted floor. Marik's eyes narrowed dangerously at her lack of respect.

"_Where_ am I? _Where_ are my friends!?" she shouted at him, close to loosing control about her words. "Don't you dare to hurt them!"

"They're doing well…" he explained in a stern tone, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "…so far. Their fate is in the hands of the Pharaoh."

"What do you mean by that? What sick plan of yours is this!? Let them go! Right now!" Jesara spat in fury when she leaped to her feet, but she nearly lost her balance. Of course she was still a bit dizzy from the chemicals because of his stupid idea to kidnap her.

But then Jesara felt warm hands on her shoulders, providing her with enough balance to prevent her from tumbling down to the floor. The warmth of his bare hands awoke memories of their past in her, times in which she loved to be touched by him like this. Goosebumps rose on her skin.

"Don't touch me…" she growled and balled her hands into fists.

"You became very demanding, my dear Jesara." Marik's voice now seemed a lot closer to her ears than before, too close.

Jesara felt every single negative emotion of the last two years rising within her throat as she slapped away his hands from her upper arms and shoved him away from her, forcing him to take one step backwards.

"YOU'RE NOT TELLING ME WHAT TO DO OR NOT TO DO! AFTER ALL YOU'VE PUT ME THROUGH YOU REALLY HAVE THE GUTS TO KIDNAP, CHLOROFORM ME AND TEASE ME WITH YOUR LACK OF MANNERS? I'M NOT YOUR TOY ANYMORE AND I WILL WALK OUT OF THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW! LET MY FRIENDS GO AND THEN I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR VISAGE AGAIN!" She screamed at the top of her lungs and shoved him out of her way, heading for the room's door and grabbing for the doorhandle. But then she felt his hand around her wrist, holding her back and forcing her to stop.

"Jesara, I-" he said in a more soft tone, but he was immediately cut short by her as Jesara turned around and shoved him away again - but without success.

"NO! I DON'T EVEN WANT TO TALK TO YOU! YOU NEARLY WRECKED ME, YOU'RE POISON TO ME! YOU NEVER EVEN APOLOGISED FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME!" She shrieked and looked straight into his lavender eyes with distaste. There was far to less distance between them. A lot of emotions were mixed up in her gaze; hate, fear, sadness, disappointment.

"…because you never gave me the chance to do so." Marik explained in a calm tone, his warm hand still had a strong grasp around her wrist. His whole body seemed to be tensed right now. Although Jesara was trembling because of that endless fear and hate, there was another emotion within her she didn't expect to feel in his presence every again. That touch of his hand filled her with… comfort? Warmth? Jesara felt how her cheeks started to burn.

For a moment they just stood there looking into each others eyes, not sure of what to say next.

_"__After you ran away my brother felt sorry for what he did to you when he lost control and deeply regretted his actions. My necklace showed my everything and I know that he still feels deeply for you, although it's buried under anger and hate…" _Ishizu's words were ghosting through her head while their eyes were still locked intensively. It was like time stood still for a moment. Did Ishizu tell her the truth? For her it was too hard to believe.

"I'm sorry…" Marik whispered, still firm, when he slowly loosened the grip on her wrist.

It took Jesara a while before she could finally collect her thoughts before she started to loose it.

„You're _sorry_!? That's all!? You broke every fucking promise you gave me! You lashed me! You made me look like a fool in front of all jerks in your dumb organisation! And you didn't give a shit about it! And all you have to say now is ‚_I'm sorry_'!? What do you expect now!? Do you really think I'd throw myself back into your arms and help you to fulfill your dorky I-will-rule-the-world-destiny like nothing ever happened!? YOU MUST BE KIDDING ME!" Jesara yelled at the top of her lungs and shot her hands up in the air for more emphasis.

When she realised tears gathered in the corners of her eyes she covered them with her hands, hiding her face from him. Deep within her she wished teleportation was a real thing - from all situations she could image this one was the least and absolute worst she wanted to find herself in. After her breakout there was only silence and again Jesara stared into nothing but black when her hands covered her eyes and rosy cheeks.

All she heard then was Marik clearing his throat and his slow, calculated footsteps coming closer to her. Jesara gasped when she felt the warmth of his skin and breath close to her right cheek when he whispered slowly, his nose was almost touching her ear.

"I AM sorry for what I did to you, accept it or not…"

Marik's tone was stern, nothing in it made Jesara really feel his so said 'sorrow' and she knew his former softness and kindness was long gone. She took a step back to increase the distance between them, crossing her arms in front of her chest to make herself look and feel more confident. Her heart beat a million miles per minute when she looked up to face him again, but… wait… He's gone?

Jesara cringed when she heard his voice behind her again.

"Get some rest. We'll talk later - but first I have to teach little Yugi a lesson."

And with that Marik left the room and locked the door behind him. Jesara's fists met the door just a second after he closed it, pounding wild against it. What did he mean by 'teaching little Yugi a lesson'? Was he just about to hurt her friends? Fear rose within her - she knew he was capable of many things but she wasn't sure how far Marik would go to get what he wants. Almost two years had passed, who knows how much he had changed for the worse. What if he would murder somebody to make sure his plan would work out? In this particular moment she wasn't sure if she'd see her friends ever again - she only felt fear.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" She commanded screaming at the top of her lungs. "DON'T DARE YOU TO HURT THEM! LET ME OUT, YOU MANIAC! DON'T HURT THEM!"

Soon she lost her strength to continue to hit against the wooden door, her hands were already aching and bruised. What to do now? Just waiting for him to return and tell her he just murdered all her loved ones? Tears fell down her cheeks when she started to blame everything on herself. What if she told them right away about Marik? What if she didn't pay attention to an anonymous letter she found in her flat? Why didn't she blow up Marik's cover when they met before? She was sure IF she did, her friends would be safe and Yugi could kick his butt.

Jesara sat down on the bed where she lay unconscious before and buried her face in her bruised hands, crying. Why didn't she? Even if Ishizu told her to keep quiet, she must have seen this coming. How could she let this happen?

_'__You're so naive, Jess… Why don't you make decisions on your own?'_

She thought back to the days before she ran away; back to the time when she was a part of Marik's life. Marik lost himself in his rage. Once he was an innocent child, laughing and crying like every other young boy. She thought back to the day of his tomb keeper initiation; it was the day that changed everything. They were only kids when Marik lost all happiness in his life and after the murder of his father he refused to fulfil his duty as a tomb keeper. Jesara sobbed wildly, tears ran down her wrists and her non-waterproof mascara started to burn in her eyes - making her to cry more.

The one day before her runaway came across her mind; the day when he punished her in front of his whole organisation. It still felt like it happened yesterday when the noise of the whip echoed in her mind. The noise when the whip touched her skin, slashing through it like a knife, it gave her goosebumps.

How could someone so kind turn in into someone so cruel?

Three gentle knocks on the door interrupted her thoughts. A tall, bulky man dressed in a typical Rare Hunter cloak in deep purple stepped in. His skin was a bit darker than Marik's and Jesara stared at him in disbelief.

"Odion…" she murmured. "You're here…"

Odion made some more steps towards her and nodded before he stopped about one meter in front of tearstained Jesara. Within a second she leaped to her feet and took the bulky Egyptian into a tight hug, burying her still wet face in his deep purple cloak.

"I missed you, Odion. I- I was sure I'd never see you again…" she whimpered into his chest.

"So did I, miss Jesara." He said in his usual gentle tone. Odion placed his big hands on her shoulder and signalled her with his eyes to sit back down to the bed. He then sat down close beside her to provide her some comfort; she looked like she could use some right now.

"Odion, how are my friends…? What is Marik doing to them?" Jesara's eyes were still burning and red from all the crying, but Odion's presence soothed her nerves a bit.

"Master Marik is determined to claim the Pharaoh's power for himself… To do so it takes the three almighty god cards and the millennium puzzle, which is in the possession of your little friend Yugi. And with completing the puzzle Yugi became a vessel to the Pharaoh's soul. Because if this Marik tracked him down to defeat him…" he explained worried, his olive green eyes piercing into hers.

"I already know that, Odion… Ishizu is here and she told me about his so called… plans." Jesara muttered. Her palms rested in her knees, slightly burying her fingers into the soft black material of her skinny jeans. "She told me that he's coming for him, and she also begged me to bring his good side back to the surface… however this should work. Yugi and my friends don't know about our connection… And I think it's the best not to do so until I have a solution for this whole mess… And somebody doesn't want me to tell them, I still don't know who but I found a anonymous letter in my flat that said _'don't tell them'._ Oh Ra, things got so fucked up the last few days…"

Odion groaned slightly when he again placed a hand on her shoulder. "Miss Jesara, I wrote the letter."

She blinked at him in surprise. "You? It was yours? B-But how did you even know I was in Domino and a friend of Yugi? You didn't know where I'd go…"

He gave her a kind smile, which she missed so much over the years. Odion was the only reason how she could stand the time at Marik's side in the past.

"Social Media…" he winked at her. "…and a talented hacker in our organisation found you. We never told Marik about your whereabouts. I always knew where you are and how you're doing. I swore to take care of the family which saved me as a baby, this duty doesn't end just because one of them runs away. But when Marik found out about the puzzle, it's wielder and Yugi… Well, let's say I knew you gonna be standing in the bench." Odion explained, tapping his hand on her shoulder again and again to calm her down like he always did years ago.

Jesara raised a brow at him. Did a servant of an old Egyptian clan just told her he tracked her down with social media? Things are getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

"And why shouldn't I warn my friends…?" She asked with a voice filled with curiosity.

"Well… long story short. Master Marik first was out of his mind when he found at that you were gone without a trace. But then I saw sorrow and grief - emotions I didn't see in him for years and you know best how his own anger possessed him. Master Marik's feelings for you are still there, although they're well covered under his hate. But when he hurt you and you left I saw them crawling back to the surface. So I thought…" Odion explained to her, giving her a warming glance, but then she cut him off.

"So you though when we see each other again our reunion could make him giving up on his plans and bring his good side back…" Jesara continued for him and he answered with a stern nod. "But such things require two… Even if Marik still have such things like _feelings_ for me, what makes you think that I still feel for him?"

"I know you do." Odion said and his words hit her like a wrecking ball. Did she? She never really thought about it. "When he still feels for you, how couldn't you? A lot happened between both of you, and both of you feel a lot of hate. But hate can't exist without love. It's like lights and shadows."

Jesara sighed, saying nothing. Right now she tried to look deep down into her heart & soul. Was he telling the truth? Could he really know more about her feelings than she did? Jesara tried to recall the past days, from the moment when she was sure that Marik was the reason for the attacks on her friends. She tried to recall what she felt in those moments. The room was filled with silence, only Jesara's and Odion's breaths were to be heard.

_'__I don't know. How could I still feel for someone who punished me the way he did? When we crossed paths again I felt only fear; I felt hate and disgust… but…"_ her gaze turned back to Odion, who still examined her with his olive green eyes, waiting for her to speak. _'I also felt some kind of…warmth. I'm so confused right now…'_

"I don't know, Odion…" she sighed.

"But you're not saying that you don't." He blinked at her again. "You said Ishizu already told you that you could bring his gentle side back to life again… the millennium necklace must've shown her that. So I have high hopes that my thoughts are right… that you really could be the key to what slumbers under tons of anger."

"If you say so…" Jesara muttered, lost for words.

Odion lifted himself from the bed and made his way towards the door, opening it almost without a sound. He stood beside the wide opened door like he held it open just for her to escape. "Now that you know what you might be capable of… I think your friends need you now."

"You help me to… escape? But when Marik finds out he might…" she stuttered when she mustered him with widened eyes from the bedside.

"He won't find out… I'll make sure he won't. He still doesn't know that I helped you to escape two years ago." Another smile crossed his face, giving her a reassuring nod.

"Thank you… once again, Odion." Jesara cracked a smile at him and strode though the door, after she gave Odion one more thankful glare, she started to run.

She found herself in long corridors, which looked like those you might find on a yacht or a boat. Right, left, staircase up, right again and again. Jesara wasn't really sure where she was running exactly, but thankful that she didn't ran into one of Marik's cloaked jerks.

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**AN:** Ahhh, so much happened in this chapter. It was hard to find a point for the ending... sorry for the bad cut here :P  
Tell me what you think and leave me a review! thanks for reading! :-)


	6. Chapter 6: Gorgeous Nightmare

**AN:** Yay! Chapter 6 is here! I loved writing it and I hope you don't mind that I don't go into detail of scenes you all know from the Anime. You're here to read a FanFiction :P not a written copy of the Anime, aren't you?

In this chapter things ARE getting serious and I decided to let Jess & Marik get closer to each other. I don't like FF's where nothing serious or fluffy ever happens between the OC and a character of the original story. So, why wait - let's make this a bit more interesting.

This chapter is also inspired by a few music titles I really really love and gave me inspiration for how to make my OC act or feel. Youtube them if you like metal core, screamo etc. :P

Thanks for favouring the story! Please make sure to review this chapter. I really like to know if you liked it! :-) Like I said in previous chapters: It keeps me motivated to update sooner than later.

**Chapter updated:** errors, style and details. :-)

Happy reading!

xoxo

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**Chapter VI**

**Gorgeous Nightmare**

After some more minutes wandering through the lonely corridors of god-knows-where, Jesara cringed and suddenly hold her breath when she heard snickering voices of various men - maybe four or five of them were loudly chatting loudly in a room nearby. As she took more and more cautious steps through the long corridor the voices grew louder, telling her she came closer to the source of the unknown voices. Jesara then came across a room on the left side, its door was standing ajar and she saw light coming from inside. Anxious she sneaked up the door crack and held her breath, trying to be as silent as possible.

"Hahahahahhaha, using hidden cameras for this duel was one of Master Marik's greatest ideas ever!" One male voice chuckled; it sounded like he munched on something crispy while he spoke. It was one thing that disgusted her the most; speaking while having the mouth stuffed with food.

_'__Hidden cameras for a duel? What the hell is this creep taking about?' _Jesara thought to herself while she eavesdropped at the door. Her heart was racing from the risk to get caught by one of Marik's Rare Hunters and to be locked back inside his room again. It would possibly not be that easy to escape a second time.

"This is the best entertainment Master Marik has ever provided us with! Seeing him kick his enemy's ass is epic!" Another male voice spoke up, also laughing in an evil manner. "He really should do things like that more often!"

"I tell you what! THIS set up for the duel is extraordinary! He's a genius! See! This tiny kiddie with this terrible haircut is already struggling! Hahahahaha!" And then another, higher male voice cheered. "Thanks to that fancy 4K resolution stuff you're able to see every single sweat beads on that kid's forehead! See!"

Jesara could hear glasses clicking inside the room and the sound of a television or radio or something. They were watching something on TV and Jesara got an uneasy feeling about what they were actually watching in there since one of them said something about a kid with a bad haircut. Were they talking about Yugi?

She tried her best to glance through the slightly ajar door to see what was going on in there without making any noise. There really was a TV in the room and she could make out 4 silhouettes in front of the glimmering light of it, sitting on a couch and lounge chairs. All of them wore the same deep purple cloak like Odion. Those guys definitely were Rare Hunters.

"What do you think? Will Master Marik beat him in time or will both of them drown in the sea?" One of the men chuckled while he munched away a mouth full of popcorn.

"However this duel ends Master Marik will win, come what may." The guy next to him cheered and took a big gulp of his bear. "Master Marik always gets his will."

Jesara was shocked when she saw what they were watching on the flat screen in front of them. It was a duel between… _'Yugi! A-nd… Joey!? Why are they duelling?'_ And what the hell was the location all about? Yugi and Joey stood on a peer or something, square shaped with a puncture in the middle of it, revealing the ocean between the both teens. Above them in the middle of the 'platform' she could make out something that looked like an anchor, which was connected to two iron chains. Jesara's eyes widened when she realised that Yugi and Joey were bound to the anchor by their ankle. What the hell was going on there?

"Joey! Make up your mind and fight against his control! I know you're still deep in there and that you can hear me, Joey! We don't have to do this! YOU don't have to!" Yami's voice yelled from the TV.

"Little Joey can't hear you, Pharaoh! So you better start duelling before time is up! Or did you forget that you AND your best friend will drown in the sea when the anchor drops?" Joey chuckled, but his voice was so different, he didn't sound like the Joey she knew for almost two years. _'Oh Ra… Now he totally lost his freaking mind!' _Jesara growled mentally, fury built up inside of her.

"Marik, you'll pay for this!" Yami growled, Jesara never saw him that furious. "You're nothing but a little coward! Why do you hide behind others!? Be a man and show yourself!"

Joey chuckled heavily again. Also his body language changed completely, like he was somebody else. He didn't act like himself anymore, but by what Jesara was able to see through the little gap she could tell that it was Marik's arrogant, but classy body language plastered onto Joey. He controlled one of her friends and put his life at risk for that sick duel.

"I will show myself to you when the right time has come, I promise. But I guess that it won't be necessary after this duel, Pharaoh! Hahaahaha" he laughed wildly and Jesara held her breath once wasn't sure if hear ears failed her, but did they really say that the looser of this duel will die when the anchor drops into the sea? Her palm met her mouth again to hold back a little whimper. She felt how her cheeks started to burn and her heart pounding like a sledgehammer from the disgust and anger that built up inside of her body.

"Our master really has a taste in extravagant ways to get what he wants." One of the men in the room declared, again taking a gulp of his beer.

"Totally agree with you!" The guy on the right side of the room cheered.

For her it was hard to believe what she saw and heard. _'Was this duel Marik's way to teach Yugi a lesson? Like he said before…?'_ Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

At this moment Jesara saw red and again anger filled her whole body. He really was capable of murder; he'd do whatever was necessary to get whatever he wants.

"And now I'll get you rid of 500 of your life points, using my Hinotama magic card!" Joey stated laughing heavily and then a huge fireball formed above him. It hit Yami with a loud bang.

_'__That's enough… I need to find him and end this!'_ Jesara told herself and turned on heel to find Marik, he couldn't be far.

Again she turned right when she reached the end of the corridor where she came across another stair case. Jesara climbed them hasty and found herself in a luxurious lounge room. Fancy and modern furniture surrounded her and now she was sure that Marik brought her to a boat or a yacht. So this was how he was traveling with his whole organisation.

Through the windows she saw the inside of some kind of hangar in which they hid the yacht to remain unnoticed.

In front of her Jesara saw big glass sliding doors which led to the deck of the yacht - and there he was. Marik still wore the same black pants and shoes, combined with a quite short top in a light lavender shade which revealed a bit of his adorable well toned stomach. His back faced her and in his right hand he held the millennium rod, a faint light glowed from the anubis eye on top of it. An evil chuckle left his throat and echoed through the hangar.

Jesara's eyes narrowed and shot daggers of the sandy blonde when she saw him standing right in front of her, but she hesitated to approach him. What could she actually say or do to make him stop? Marik still had the power of the millennium rod and it would be easy for him to knock her out with it. It wouldn't take him more effort than a snip with his finger.

"Yugi! When will you realise that there's no way out of this!" Marik roared with laugher and glanced into nothing in particular in front of him. "I'll get your puzzle and Slifer however this duel ends up! You can hand it over to me now and you both will get out alive! Or you can fight until the end and drown in the sea!"

His words made her shiver to the bones and it was so freaky to see him talking to himself. He had control over one of her best friends and he won't hesitate to sacrifice him to take the puzzle and win Slifer back. All of his former empathy was gone, there obviously wasn't a single trace of it anymore. She pressed her lips into a wry line when she thought back to the time and how he used to be back then. Besides feeling nothing but disgust for him it made her sad to see him that way.

_'__I have no idea what to do now… But trying is better than letting down my friends. Marik crossed a red line."_ Jesara tried to command all her courage although she was sure to be knocked out by him before she could finish just one single word. Marik has done worse things to her in the past. _'At least I have to do just something... __I guess there's nothing to loose… save your friends or die trying…'_

With a jolt she slid the glass door open and stepped onto the deck of yacht, Marik seemed to be too focused on controlling Joey to become aware of her presence.

"Stop it, Marik! That's enough!" She exclaimed from behind him. Marik's lavender eyes met hers when he looked over his shoulder to see who had the brass to disturb his duel. His gaze grew darker when their eyes locked.

"How did you break free? Which fool let you out?" He asked in a vexed tone, still observing her from over his shoulder with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Jesara clinched her fists beside her body - so hard her fingernails dug into her palms and her knuckled went white from the pressure.

"I escaped from you once and I'll do it again and again." She couldn't snitch on Odion right now, so better say nothing by saying something. "Release Joey and my friends! You crossed a red line!"

Marik chuckled and turned his gaze back to the harbour in front of him. In the distance she could catch a sight of the ongoing duel between Yugi and Joey. The hangar was far enough away to make sure to remain unrecognised. Her friends had no idea that Marik could see them from afar.

"Nope." He said cooly without looking at her. "I'm just one step away from defeating Yugi and become Pharaoh."

"This power isn't meant to be yours, Marik!" Jesara yelled and made another step towards him; she was just about 2 meters away from him. "Stop it, now!"

"Ts ts ts. So demanding, but yet so naive, my dear Jesara." Marik lifted his right hand and wagged with his forefinger to provoke her.

"That's not the right time to tell jokes!" Jesara knew that he teased her and it pissed her off more and more by the minute. Marik said nothing, but responded with an evil giggle, his back still facing her.

An annoyed growl left her throat, he was playing with her.

"You're too sweet when you're angry, my sweet little Jesara." He teased again. Jesara wasn't sure what annoyed her the most - his arrogant behaviour or how he said and pronounced her name.

"And you're disgusting, Marik…" she whispered to herself, but loud enough to be heard by him, but he again only smirked and glanced at her over his shoulder with an arrogantly arched brow.

"Hahahahahaha!" All of the sudden Marik broke out into laughter. "Now it's time to say goodbye, Pharaoh!"

Jesara cringed when he started to talk out of context. _'What the…? Wait!'_ His words were directed to Yugi! He spoke through Joey! And his words predicted nothing good, that was for sure.

"And now little Joey, play Meteor of Destruction!" Marik commanded in a loud voice.

Her amber-olive eyes widened; she knew this rare card. _'This card destroys 1000 of your opponents life points!' _She panicked. Was Marik just an inch away from defeating the Pharaoh? If he WAS about to win, the anchor will drop to the ground of the sea and it will take Yugi with him. Jesara needed to act, or needed to do at least something - NOW.

With a jolt she sprinted forward and shoved Marik as hard as she could. She reached out and tried to wrench the rod out of his hand while she wrestled with him - but to no avail.

Then she felt a strong thrust, causing her to loose all of her balance. Jesara dashed to the ground beside of Marik, who frowned down to her. "I'll make you regret this one, Jesara." He snarled before his attention went back to the duel. The beam of the millennium rod intensified once more.

"Obey me! Play Meteor of Destruction and wipe away all of his life points!" Marik growled loudly. "Do it! NOW!"

Jesara's scared eyes were fixed to the raging sandy blonde in front of her when she slowly rose to her feet. Something wasn't going to plan for Marik. He repeated his command to Joey over and over again and she could feel him getting more and more tense.

"You can't resist, Wheeler! Play the card and destroy him!"

What was going on? Marik's outrage baffled her. Did Joey fight against Marik's control on his mind? Could it be that her friends will was strong enough to put up resistance against the power of a millennium item? Again the light that came from Marik's rod enhanced once more and his arm began to shake like it weighed a ton. Joey was fighting against his control, but Marik tightened his grip on her friends mind.

Jesara must support Joey to win the battle and break free from Marik's control. But she didn't dare to attack him once more.

_'__Wait a second…'_ she gasped when her conversation with Odion earlier crossed her mind again.

**/ flashback**

_"__Well… long story short. Master Marik first was out of his mind when he found out that you were gone without a trace. But then I saw sorrow and grief - emotions I didn't see in him for years and you know best how his own anger possessed him. Master Marik's feelings for you are still there, although they're well covered under his hate. But when he hurt you and you left I saw them crawling back to the surface. So I thought…" Odion explained to her, giving her a warming glance, but then she cut him off._

_"__So you though when we see each other again our reunion could make him giving up on his plans and bring his good side back…" Jesara continued for him and he answered with a stern nod._

**/ end flashback**

Jesara examined the infuriated Marik in front of her when suddenly an idea came to her mind. _'What if Ishizu and Odion are right…?'_

Without thinking twice she made three steps forward, closing every distance between her and Marik. Her left hand softly met his shoulder while her other one met his tanned cheek; she gently pressed her whole body against his and it made her flesh crawl when she felt the warmth of his skin on hers. Within a split second her heart started to beat a million miles a minute when Jesara pressed her lips on his - she couldn't believe what she was doing right now.

Jesara felt how Marik's body froze and tensed up instantly by the second; she could tell that he really wasn't expecting THIS. For a moment either her nor Marik moved for only one millimetre. She wasn't sure about his reaction, because she tried her best to keep her eyes pressed shut and survive that situation without dying from a sudden heart attack.

Suddenly she felt his hand touching her back, pulling her body even closer to his when he started to deepen their kiss. The wings of the rod squeezed into her back when Marik pulled her closer and closer, then his other hand met the back part of her head holding her in a tight, but sensual grip. Oh how she hated everything about her action, but she forced herself to play along if this was - hopefully - distracting Marik enough from the duel so that Joey could regain control over his body. If it helped to interfere with Marik's plans and maybe save her friends lifes, kissing your no.1 persona-non-grata was a bearable price she was willing to pay.

A faint whimper left her throat when she felt his tounge forcing its way into her mouth. But with this she felt how the feeling of disgust and wrath vanished from her body with every of their ‚movements'; it turned into something else - something warm - something that felt like… joy? Her body started to relax as she began to kiss him back in the same sultry way like he did.

Did she really start to ‚enjoy' what was going on there? She was well aware of the fact that her sudden idea & plan in distracting Marik as good as possible to help Joey to break free from his control seemed to work out just fine, but enjoying it wasn't part of the plan. And hell, she didn't even want to feel anything like that - not in a hundred years. But it was there. Joy, pleasure, desire, hormones - whatever it was it washed away every tension from her body. Jesara's heart echoed even louder in her ears when she placed her left hand on his toned chest. She could feel his heart bumping in his chest like crazy too. Jesara's right hand dug roughly into his sandy blonde hair as she pressed out a slight pleasureful moan. Every touch of his hands and lips turned her brain into a firework.

But then she suddenly broke the kiss when loud cheers and applause from the distance met her hears. Her eyes shot open, meeting puzzled lavender orbs locking with hers. Yep - he really didn't see this coming. They looked at each other in surprise, just minimal distance separated their faces. Both of them were somehow out of breath from that little _encounter._ Marik's gaze turned into a fierce one when reality hit him. Jesara could tell that he just realised what happened, without a doubt Joey made it out of his mind control and broke free. Marik lost him.

He loosened his touch on Jesara and with a hop he jumped forward to the railing, his furious gaze met the harbour in front of him, staring in the direction of the duel he actually lost control about. The grip on his millennium rod tightened, his knuckles turned white and his muscular arms tensed in fury.

"NO! I lost control over Wheeler! I've been so close!" He growled out loud, still focusing into the direction of the insane duel he had put up for her friends.

Jesara stared at him from behind with a startled expression and also trying to conceive the fact that she kissed him just a minute ago, that Joey was able to break out of Marik's control because of it, that her plan worked out… and the fact, that something in her enjoyed it.

On the other hand she felt somewhat proud of the fact that for once in her lifetime she had some sort of control about him. She stopped him and he didn't resist for some reason.

Marik was still furious like hell at the fact, that his game was over - again. He didn't even turn back to her. This was the perfect time to do a runner, who knows what he'd do to her. It was her 'fault' that his plan didn't work out. So she creeped away and off the yacht as silent as possible and started a sprint when she was out of his sight and dashed away into the direction of her friends.

"YUGI! JOEY!" She exclaimed when she arrived quite breathless at the duelling platform which Marik out up for his unfair game. "Are you okay!?"

"Jess! You escaped!?" Tea shouted at the top of her lungs from across the pear. She was pinioned to an iron chair, a large container hung about 3 meters above her, ready to drop down at any time. One of Marik's rare hunters stood by the crane which held the container in place, in his hands he held a remote. Marik really prepared for every case. _'But he didn't expect the… thing I did.'_

"Yes! I was lucky!" Jesara lied and thought back to what Ishizu and Odion begged her for. "How about you guys?"

Yugi and Joey were still duelling, both of them were out of breath and looked frazzled. When Jesara glanced over to them she was wondering why Joey wore Yugi's millennium puzzle around his neck, but she was somewhat relieved when she realised that he was himself again - free of a mind controlling freak that forced him to duel.

Jesara's gaze wandered over the audience, they were all here… Tristan, Duke Devlin, Mai and even Kaiba & Mokuba were present. Also another quite young girl with brunette hair was with Tristan & Duke - could this be Joey's sister? Jesara never met her before. She was sure that it was her because of her bandaged eye-area.

Suddenly a deafening dull sound met her ears. All of a sudden a helicopter of Kaiba Corp appeared above them and crashed into the crane, which held the container over Tea in place. With a loud bang both crashed into the sea, followed by an enormous fountain.

"You creep won't ruin MY tournament!" Kaiba yelled and with only one punch in the face he knocked out the Rare Hunter who had operated the crane. "Bastard!"

Nobody thought it would happen in a lifetime, but everybody cheered on Kaiba who just saved Tea and sacrificed one of his fancy helicopters to do so.

While Kaiba and Tristan unleashed Tea from the metal chair Jesara scanned the duelling field to get a clue about the current status of the game, but much to her regret she noticed that Joey DID play Meteor of Destruction, which destroys 1000 of Yugi's life points and THAT means he was about to loose the duel!

But Yugi managed to block the attack with his trap card, which absorbed the power of the Meteor - ready to reflect its power in any direction he wanted.

Jesara was shocked when she finally understood what was about to happen next and what it meant for her friends.

_'__Yugi's next decision will determine who's going to win this duel… but… the looser will drown when the anchor drops…'_ she thought to herself and gazed at her two friends with a terrified expression. _'Marik you… no word could describe how fucked up you are…'_

"Joey, you will forever be my best friend!" Yugi said and smiled at Joey in front of him, his eyes were filled with tears. "I'm choosing me as the target of Meteor of Destruction!"

"NO!" Everyone screamed in union - but to no avail. A huge fire ball covered Yugi's side of the field immediately and his life points counter dropped to zero within a second. Yugi fell to the ground in total exhaustion. Joey and everybody around them panicked when the countdown of the anchor started.

"Yugi!" Tea cried and panic overwhelmed her.

With another beeping sound the box in front of Joey popped open and revealed a key to unlock the hobble on his ankle. "Yugi! I won't let you down! We're both getting out of here alive! I promise!"

And Joey was right. There actually WAS an opportunity to save Yugi too and the blonde teen figured out how. Yugi still had the Red Eyes Black Dragon in the field and Joey instantly ordered it to attack him directly. With another huge fireball Joey's life points reached zero too and Yugi's key box popped open.

Joey grabbed his shackle and hopped over to his unconscious friend using all his power, he managed to grab the key out of Yugi's box last-minute and then - with a loud bang - the anchor dropped. Jesara and her friends panicked when they saw how Yugi and Joey disappeared under water. Everybody hold their breath.

Tea and Serenity panicked like hell, fear was written all over their face.

But then Yugi emerged back to the surface, fighting for air. Tristan and Duke immediately pulled him out of the water. But Joey was no where to be seen.

"Oh my god! Joey forgot to take his key with him!" Tristan yelled. "Somebody has to…"

Before Tristan could finish the sentence they saw Serenity plunging into the water; her right hand held the key from Joey's box and even her bandages were gone. Nothing meant more to her than her brother, risking her life to save him wasn't questionable for her.

Again Jesara and their friends stared to the surface of the sea, hoping for the best.

The following seconds felt like an eternity for the gang. But then Joey and his sister came back to the surface again, inhaling a deep breath. They were save!

The gang cheered in excitement and relief. The nightmare was over - Yugi and Joey made it out alive. Tristan and Duke helped he siblings out of the water and tried to comfort them as good as possible.

"Joey, when will you start to take your fucking keys with you? Sometimes to do so could be life saving, you know…" Duke clapped Joey on the back and kindly teased the blonde, soaking wet teen. Serenity pulled her brother into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Joey…" Yugi smiled gratefully at his blonde friend. "You saved my life."

"Anytime! That's what friends are for…" Joey replied with a smile.

"You guys must be freezing! We should get you some dry clothes and a hot chocolate to warm you up!" Tea cheered and hugged them too. Everyone agreed to her with a nod.

**/ at the game shop**

Tea handed everyone a cup of hot chocolate and then sat down beside Yugi and Joey. Both teens covered themselves in a thick and fluffy blanket to get warm. The hot beverage was a welcomed treat.

"Guys…" Joey muttered and rubbed his cold hands on the warm cup. "Three words… Worst. Day. Ever."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Tea sighed and took a sip from her hot chocolate. "True… But this Marik guy won't stop… I guess you'll have to fight him in the finals…"

"That's for sure…" Joey growled and glanced over to Jesara, who stared into her cup and seemed to be lost in thoughts. "Hey Jess!"

She cringed and looked up at the blonde. "Huh?"

"I'm glad you're okay." Joey cracked a smile at her and took a sip from his cup.

"By the way…" Yugi spoke up and looked over to Jesara, mustering her. "How did you manage to escape?"

"Uh…well…" she stuttered while she stared over to Yugi.

"I didn't see you anywhere… They locked Mokuba and me together in some kind of room… Where have you been?" Tea asked and eyed her curiously.

Jesara held her breath and tightened the grip on the hot cup in her hand. She didn't think about a plausible explanation or 'excuse' and the truth wasn't the best choice after what happened just one hour ago.

"Believe me or not…" she spoke up and rubbed the back of her head with her right hand. "But one of those fools left the door open." Jesara forced a smile and chuckled, hoping their friends would believe her and stop questioning her.

The gang frowned at her in disbelief, but Jesara immediately decided to change the topic. She hated lying, but her explanation for how she managed to escape wasn't actually a lie. Odion let her out and held the door open for her.

"Yugi, Joey? Did you already qualify for the finals? They're starting tomorrow evening, right?" She asked and smiled at her two friends who still shivered under their fluffy blankets.

"We both qualified for the finals!" Yugi replied and returned a gentle smile to her. "And yes, the finals are starting tomorrow evening. We need to use all six locator cards on our duel disks to find out about the secret location of the finals."

"I can't wait to kick Marik's ass!" Joey exclaimed and balled a fist to show how totally pissed off he was by the mind controlling stranger. "What about you, Jess?"

Oh shit! So much happened today - she totally forgot about the fact that she needed two more locator cards to enter the finals.

"Oh. I still have four locator cards… But I'll try to win them tomorrow. There's still a bit of time." She answered and finished her sweet hot beverage, then placed the empty mug onto a nearby table. "Well then… it's been a quite exhausting day. I literally can hear me bed crying for me. Guess we'll see each other tomorrow somewhere in downtown? I'd love to have all of you as a emotional support, you know." Jesara grinned at her friends and waved at them when she walked out of the room. „See you! Good night! And don't catch a cold, Joey!". She then left the game shop and took the fastest way home.

Joey's face instantly flushed with a bright shade of red and his smirk reached from his right ear to the other. „Awwwww, guys! I told ya she loves me!"

„Oh Joey…" his friends sighed, rolled their eyes in unison and face-palmed.

Night had already begun and the streets of Domino were illuminated by streetlights. There still were a lot of people wandering about the town, some of them were dueling, others made their own way home. Jesara welcomed the fact that she was on her own now and decided to walk home, she hated the subway anyways. So she put in her wireless earpods and clicked the random button in her music playlist.

Music has always been a way to deal with her feelings and thoughts. And today she had a lot of things going on on her mind to deal with and her phone seemed to have a quite good suggestion for the next song. It randomly chose the track ‚Gorgeous Nightmare' by one of her favorite band ‚Escape the Fate' and a sarcastic smirk crossed her face - this song could possibly be written for her right now.

About ten minutes later she arrived at her flat and took off her duel disk, leather jacket and shows off first. Her stomach started to growl heavily - she didn't really had a meal the whole day and actually nothing to eat in her fridge. Food management wasn't her a talent of her, she usually ended up ordering a pizza or chinese food. So she grabbed her phone and called the nearby italian restaurant and ordered a pizza margarita - problem solved.

She had about 30 minutes until her well deserved meal would arrive, so she decided to wash the day away with a long, hot shower. Jesara took off all of her clothes and stuffed them into her clothes hamper. She placed her phone next to the shower and connected it to her sound system, which she was so thankful for in that moment. _‚Best investment ever…'_  
After she moved to Domino she decided to install a sound system that covered her whole flat, so music could be heard in perfect quality in every room - even in the bathroom.

Hot steam started to fill the bathroom while Jesara tried to wash away what happened today and even feelings she didn't want to feel. She rolled her eyes and sighed when her playlist decided to play ‚Broken Heart', also by Escape The Fate, next. Another song that fitted so perfectly for her right now. (AN: If you don't know those songs I'm writing about here, youtube them. The track Broken Heart gave me some inspiration for this scene and in fact the whole story. AND damn, the music video is AMAZING!)

The kiss she and Marik shared before crossed her mind and it didn't let go of it. She thought about every single detail of it; about his reaction, the fact that he didn't even resisted, how he smelled, how it felt, how he touched her and at least the detail about it she hated the most; what it made her feel. Her forefinger met her lips when she remembered the touch of the kiss; they felt like they weren't attached to her brain anymore. Why did it made her feel so comfortable while she hated him so much? Something in her desired more of it and something else wanted to hate everything about it, but failed. It gave her goosebumps when Odion's words crossed her mind again.

_‚__I know you do'_ he had said to her today.

„I don't - I should know best about this…" she murmured to herself while the hot water ran down her body and covered her slightly tanned skin into warmth, but even this remembered her of the warmth she felt while she actually forced herself to kiss him to cross his plans. „Hopefully I do know…"

After the shower she dried herself, brushed her still wet hair and put on a short grey pyjama bottom and a oversized black tank top. Pizza should arrive any minute and her stomach started to growl even more by the thought of basil and mozzarella.

A familiar melody filled her ears when her phone chose ‚I Hate Everything About You' by Three Days Grace to play next and again she let out a heavy sigh. „Oh come on! Stop kidding me! Don't make me hate you…" Fine, now she started to talk to and insult her own playlist - she was so done for today. (AN: You should also youtube this one, the lyrics fit perfect for what she feels right now.)

A bright smile crossed her face when she heard her doorbell rang, it must be the well awaited pizza boy to save her day. She grabbed her purse, hopped to her door and opened it without looking through the spyhole first. She gasped and froze when she realised that it wasn't pizza boy, instead her eyes locked with familiar lavender orbs and a smug grin.

* * *

**AN:** Hope you enjoyed! :-) make my day great and leave a review :*


	7. Chapter 7: Bonds & Confessions

**AN:** Happy Monday! I'm back with a new chapter and it's a bit longer than the previous ones. Last chapter I took the first step of what you all may have been waiting for. In this chapter I give you another breadcrumb that will lead to the reveal of Mariks and Jesara's past. :P Sorry for the cliffhanger I left you with in chapter 6, but I do LOVE cliffhangers!

I hope I didn't mess up with writing Marik, it's quite hard - I have to admit that. But I hope you like it :-) BTW: No pizza boys were harmed in this chapter!

Like every time: Please review and let me know if you liked it! And I apologise if there are any auto-correction fails! I swear, my MacBook does what it wants...

**Chapter Update:** Errors, Style. **NEW:** I added a little 1/3 lemon part to the chapter. Just to inform you that there's a little more intimate part :P

Thank you for reading and favouring the story!

* * *

**Chapter VII**

**Bonds & Confessions**

In his hands he held a pizza carton, balancing it elegantly on three of his piano thin fingers. An amused grin was plastered on his face when his lavender eyes met Jesara's staggered ones as reality hit her.

"What the…" she gasped when she took a small step backwards without loosing eye contact. "Why are y-… How did you fin-… What are you doing h-he..?" Jesara definitely didn't expect that kind of situation and it was impossible for her to finish even one short sentence. This surprise almost left her speechless. All she wanted or expected right now was the kind pizza boy from the restaurant down the street and to enjoy her meal. Wasn't this day already one of the worst in her life?

"Nice to see you too, my dear Jesara." Marik smirked when he walked straight past her and placed the hot carton on her coffee table in her living room. "Nice flat." That annoying smirk never left his gaze when his eyes examined the room. Jesara still stood by her still opened door and stared daggers at him. Her fingers were wrapped around the door handle, holding it in a tight grip - so tight that her knuckled went withe.

Jesara's body trembled, but it wasn't just fear that made her shiver uncontrollably. It was pure vexation building up inside her ribcage. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you find out about my address?" She growled. How could he even dare to just walk in like he was invited and welcomed, wearing that annoying grin on his pretty boy face.

"Did you forget? I told you that we'll talk later." Marik chuckled in his typical arrogant manner while he glanced at her like he was devouring her with his lavender eyes. They scanned her carefully from head down to the toes before he spoke again. "Nice outfit, by the way."

_'__What…?'_ She raised a brow at him in surprise, it took her 2 seconds before she... _'Oh Ra! I'm wearing as good as nothing!'_

Jesara cringed and immediately grabbed a sweater jacket off of her wardrobe hook to cover herself. She let out a deep grumble when she closed her door with a loud bang to make him know about how not-welcomed he was.

"And actually I think we should talk about this _think-I'd-throw-myself-back-into-your-arms-like-if-nothing-ever-happened-_statement of yours earlier." Marik continued smirking at her while he leant cooly against the doorframe that connected her vestibule with her living room. His golden pyramid shaped earrings jingled gently beside his jawline. He crossed his muscly arms while he waited for Jesara to respond. The way his icy lavender irises bore into her filled her with unease which caused her palms starting to sweat in anxiety.

"There's nothing to talk about, Marik. And I'd appreciate it if you leave now." Jesara's amber-olive eyes narrowed dangerously at him, while she crossed her arms in front of her chest too.

"Oh yes, there ARE a few things we need to talk about. But why don't you eat your pizza first?" Mariks tone teased her to the core. Every word that came out of his mouth had this smug undertone. She wished she was strong enough to kick his lordly smirking ass out of her flat.

"No thanks, I guess I'm not hungry anymore… thanks to you." Jesara grumbled and shot him with an angry glare. "And what disgusting things have you done to the pizza boy?"

Mariks hand grabbed something from behind his back - it was the millennium rod which he usually attached to his belt. The anubis eye on it glistered in the dim lighting of Jesara's flat when he held it up for her to see. "Don't worry, I just made him forget about the check. You're welcome."

A deep sigh left her throat. She was relieved that Marik hasn't done something worse to stranger for no reason. "Fine."

His presence filled her with unease and tension, especially after their quite intimate encounter. "I ask you once more. How did you find out where I live?"

"I controlled Wheeler's mind, you remember? What means I had access to his whole, although quite tiny, brain. He's a peabrain of a boyfriend. I expected you to have a better taste in men." His tone grew more serious although his signature smirk slowly vanished from his tanned face. She arched a brow curiously, did he try to test her with that statement?

Jesara darted a startled look at the sandy blonde in front of her while his lavender eyes still observed her with caution. He raised a brow when Jesara held back a laughter with her hand covering her mouth. "Joey? My boyfriend? I expected YOU to have better skills in reading ones mind. Well, no. Joey isn't my boyfriend, if that's what you want to know."

"I see. He has quite _interesting_ fantasies…" Marik paused and cleared his throat before finishing the sentence. "…with you."

Jesara's face turned as red as a beetroot when his words sank in. For a moment they both stood in silence. She forgot about the fact that the millennium rod also allowed its wielder to see daydreams and fantasies of others, their brains where like open books for him. And Jesara really didn't want to know about god-knows-what Joey dreamed of her. And besides that she didn't want - from all people walking this planet - Marik to know about them either.

"Whatever… It's none of your business what's going on in Joey's mind." Jesara shook her head and tried to shake off the latest news of Joey's fantasies. "What do you want? Can we please make this short so that I can go to bed? I'm tired and not in the mood for making this discussion a never ending story." She tried her very best to act like his presence wasn't bothering her at all; to make him feel like he was immaterial to her.

"Let's talk about this little kiss of ours. Because of you I failed in defeating the Pharaoh." Marik's expression was unreadable for her and she really wished that he wouldn't bring up this particular topic since he walked through her door. Jesara pressed her lips into a thin line and held her breath for a second.

"It didn't mean anything, Marik. It was just…" Jesara sighed and tried to remain calm. "I just wanted to distract you enough to help Joey break free."

"Interesting stragedy." His said without any change of expression on his face - he just stared at her intensively and it filled her with even more unease to be observed like that.

"Mhm." Jesara murmured and tried to conceal that this conversation made her flesh crawl. The less talk about this incidence the better. The least thing she wanted him to know was that she felt something like…pleasure? "Worked out fine."

Marik remained silent for a moment before answering. His lavender eyes seemed to stare directly into her soul, why did he always have such an impact on her? The longer she stared into those icy pools the more she felt how her knees went weak.

"I missed that." He stated short and crisp, still avoiding any emotion crossing his tanned poker face. Oh how she hated it.

Jesara's eyes shot to the floor to prevent Marik to see her rosy blushed cheeks. Her light grey bangs slightly covered her face when she looked down and buried her nails into the sleeves of her sweater jacket. _'He…missed it.' _His statement echoed inside of her head.

"Don't take it for too serious, Marik… I only did it to save my friends. And I didn't miss it at all." She muttered while she felt how her heart started to beat a hundred miles a minute. Slowly she lifted her head to meet his gaze again.

"I know you did. You've always been a terrible liar, my dear Jesara. Your body language tells me more than you can ever do with only words." He stated and made one calculated step towards her. The sound of his step made her cringe, tension flooded her body again.

"You wish. I didn't. If you would be so kind and leave now?" Jesara hissed with narrowed eyes.

Marik again drew closer to her and Jesara glared more daggers at him with every inch less separating them. Why couldn't he just go now? Her heartbeat echoed in her ears like hell.

"Tell whatever you want, Jesara. I could easily read your mind and find out what I already know." Now he was just about half a metre away from her, but he didn't come any closer. Jesara tensed up from his approach like a fearful cat, but she didn't took a step back or move at all. Her body felt like it was made from stone. She hated his well knowledge of human nature.

"There's only one thing I really want to tell you, Marik…" she said under her breath and glared at him with narrowed eyes. Jesara suddenly rose her right hand and swung it with all her strength to bitchslap him. Her eyes shot wide open and stared into his when she felt Marik's tight grip around her wrist; he blocked her hand without even blinking an eye.

Suddenly Marik closed every distance between them and in a matter of seconds he pinned her against the wall. His grip on her wrists was so tight that she couldn't even move just one inch. Her cheeks started to burn as she felt his body heat from the touch of their chests.

"Look, Jesara… I know I did horrible things to you, I hurt you and I broke promises I made." He spoke loud with a stern voice and his lavender eyes locked with her puzzled ones. His words sounded so… honest. "I already said it once and I'll repeat it only once more. I AM sorry, I really am. I regretted it in the minute they brought you out of the room and I never had the chance to apologise. You were gone and I thought I'll never see you again."

His tone was now close to shouting. Jesara gazed into his eyes with a shattered look. His words left her speechless and her breath got heavier by every second. Was this really happening now? His tone was rough, but yet so soft...somehow. "Actually that was the plan... to never ever see _you_ again." Jesara mumbled.

"Couldn't you at least try to forgive me?" He spoke gently under his breath, his face just a few inches away from hers. She could sense the warmth of his breath on her skin.

Jesara swallowed hard before she found her voice to answer him. "M-Marik… I don't think it's that easy…" She still felt the tight grip of his soft hands around her wrists, which were still pinned against the wall besides her head. "B-but it's at least doing me good to hear those words…"

"I could feel that you enjoyed this kiss too." It gave her goosebumps as he whispered those words into her ear, slightly touching it with his pointed nose.

"But I didn't want to…" Jesara whispered and watery eyes. But then she gasped as she realised that she just admitted THAT she did enjoy it in some way. Why did she say that accidentally?

"I know and I'm glad that you admit that to yourself. So you're not only feeling hate for me." Again it shot a pleasurable shiver down her spine when she felt his breath on her neck. Jesara tried to bring at least a bit more distance between them. However how hard she squirmed under his grip it was to no avail. Was he right? Did she really feel something else than hate for him? No - impossible. Not after all he had put her through.

Suddenly she sensed a familiar touch on her lips. Jesara blinked twice in surprise as she realised that it were his lips that she felt on hers - again. But instead of resisting or pushing him away from her to break the kiss she slowly closed her eyes and gave in. Marik's grip on her wrists loosened as she started to kiss him back. Jesara could hear her inner voice screaming and shouting at her and still something inside of her decided to act against her sanity. As their kiss intensified he grabbed her by her waist to pull her closer to his chest.

_bump - bump bump - bump - bump bump. _It was all she heard when Jesara inhaled deeply from the touch of his hand on her waist, which somehow found a way underneath her oversized sweater and her tank top. His touch on her bare skin shot a shiver through her body - but it didn't feel bad, but so... delightful. It was like her whole body was on fire. With every movement of their tongues the heat built up more. There wasn't just a single trace of resistance against his hands that carefully undressed her from the sweater she wore. Again her inner voice begged her to stop him and get back to mind - but she let him pass.

Was it the devil that awoke inside of her? Whatever it was what made her doing the same with his pale lavender crop top it was stronger than her inner, still creaming voice of sanity. Once it was only her tank top that separated the bare skin of their chests she wrapped her arms around his neck like her life depended on it. It overwhelmed her senses and Jesara was sure that she'll probably regret that she gave in to him and still she acted against it.

She almost forgot how it felt, how his touch felt on her skin and lips.

But then she sensed that he was about to get rid of her tank top as his hands slowly pushed it upwards, revealing the bare skin of her stomach and little parts of her breasts. Within a split second she broke the kiss and pushed Marik away from her whose lavender irises stared at her in puzzlement. She could tell from his face that he didn't expect her to stop.

Silence.

"Stop." Jesara stated out of breath. "Enough. We shouldn't even do that. _I_ shouldn't do that. I-It's just..." Hastily she put her sweater back on and tried to avoid looking him in the eyes.

Marik arched a brow at her; her sudden change in behaviour confused him at least a little bit after _that_ kiss and that she didn't even try to resist. "It's just what?"

She lifted her head to look at him, her cheeks turned into a deep shade of rosy red as her eyes carefully scanned that shameless well toned piece of a chest. "It's just wrong, Marik." Jesara murmured silently and suspended his lavender crop top from the floor, then threw it back to him.

Marik's expression didn't change at her statement while he put his shirt back on. Maybe he knew more than she thought? "If you say so. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." There it was again. That little smug grin returned to his lips - even if it only lasted for a short moment.

"However." Jesara huffed and opened the door for him to leave. "It meant nothing. Just a lapse. I think you should go now, Marik. Please." Her amber-olive eyes stared at him determinedly, hoping he would leave without starting another discussion about how much she might have _enjoyed_ their encounter. Right now she hated herself for throwing her self-control over board so easily.

"Sorry." He apologised randomly while his thumb gently stroked across her lips what again made her heart skip another beat. "Believe me or not, but I still love you and I wish I could undo my actions." A shiver shot through her whole body when his words met her ears.

"Then you have a strange way to show it…" Jesara muttered under her breath and gently shoved him a few inches away from her. "Please, leave now…"

Warmth and another indescribable feeling shot through her body when Marik softly placed a kiss on her forehead before he turned to the door to leave. "As you wish. You know where to find me."

Jesara only stared at him in puzzlement and answered with a reassuring nod. Was that something like an invitation? Marik was almost out of the door, but glanced back at her once more.

"One more thing. Don't tell Yugi and his little friends about me and who I really am. Whyever you didn't do that already." And there it was again; the unreadable poker face and his typical, stern tone.

"I won't…" she whispered before the door closed and Marik was gone. "And for Ra's sake I don't have an idea why didn't do it..." Jesara added to herself.

A heavy sigh left her throat and her hands rubbed her temples to get her thoughts straight again. Did that really happen? This definitely fucked up her mind. _'Why did you let him pass, Jess? What the hell got into you?"_ She asked herself in dismay.

Her glance wandered over to the pizza carton Marik placed in her coffee table beside her couch. She wasn't hungry anymore at all, but right now she really needed soul food. This day really freaked her out on so many ways and she wasn't sure what to think or feel about her latest encounter with Marik. Who knew where it would have ended when she didn't stop him just in time?

Jesara shook her head to make her thoughts go away. After eating two pieces of her now cold pizza she slumped onto her queen sized bed. Her eyes stared to the ceiling for what seemed to be an eternity, but soon fatigue overwhelmed her and she fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

**/ the next morning**

Bright sunlight burned on her cheeks when she awoke from her sleep; Jesara stretched and cuddled herself into her fluffy bedsheets once one. It was 09:12 in the morning and it was the day the battle city finals started. If she wanted to qualify as a finalist she should get ready soon. Jesara looked up at the ceiling when last evenings events crossed her mind again. Marik's words rang through her head. Her palm gently met her forehead where he placed a kiss on just a few hours ago. Jesara let out a heavy sigh and got up from the bed to have a shower and get ready for the day.

She never was the type for having a closet of tons and tons of clothing in every existing colour on this planet. Her dressing habits were like those others knew from Mr Bean or Albert Einstein. Jesara had about 5 pairs of very similar black skinny pants, loads of tank tops and blouses in natural colours and a few black black blazers and leather jackets in different shapes, lengths and styles. It was her way to deal with fashion trends: not to worry about them. So she decided again for another version of her signature outfit and combined a mauve coloured tank top with a slim fitting leather jacket. When she finished her outfit for the day she opened the upper drawer of the commode she stored her jewellery and make up products in.

Jesara put on some mascara and a bit of chocolate coloured eyeshadow to accentuate her eyes when she checked her appearance in the mirror on top of the commode. Earrings would fit just perfectly for today, so she looked through her jewellery collection. A pair of golden earrings caught her attention, they had the shape of an Egyptian ankh and were made of real, pure gold. They've been a present from Marik a long time ago and she hasn't worn them since her runaway, but something in her refused to sell or get rid of them in other ways. And today something made her feel it was the right day to wear them again. The golden ankhs dangled gently at both sides of her face and they sparkled beautifully in the sunlight that shone through her window.

Another piece of jewellery caught her attention; it was a golden ring that was decorated with engraved hieroglyphs on it. Jesara stared at it in her hands. The last time she wore it was the day she arrived in Domino almost two years ago. It remembered her of the life she used to live before she started off new in Domino - the life she had with him. Jesara didn't want to wear it, but she also didn't want not to wear it. So she grabbed a golden necklace from the drawer and put it around her neck, the golden ring dangled on it like a pendant. Jesara also decided to hide it underneath her tank top, but she wasn't really sure why she decided to wear it anyways.

The scent of freshly brewed coffee met her nose when she got herself a cup of the tasty, deep brown liquid from the kitchen. She loved to enjoy her coffee on her balcony - it was some kind of daily ritual to start the day. Jesara thought about her plans for the day. First of all she had to win two more locator cards to enter the finals, it would be best to look for duelists in the downtown area of the city. There was something else she really wanted to do before she'll see Marik again. Jesara needed to talk about what happened to at least somebody, maybe she could find Ishizu in the museum or somewhere else. She checked her wristwatch for the time, it was already 11 am - she needed to get going.

"Hi Yugi! Meet at 2 pm at central square to watch me win the last 2 locator cards?" Jesara texted Yugi before she grabbed her duel disk, handbag and purse and left her flat. She decided to look for Ishizu first, so she headed for the subway to the museum. The song "The Promise" by another artist she loved, Andy Black, played from her EarPods while she waited for the next train in the subway station.

A loud _'DING DING'_ interrupted her deep thoughts, it was a text message from Yugi. "Fine! CU there!" So Jesara had enough time to find and talk to Ishizu about the latest events.

**/ at Domino museum**

Jesara ascended the antique staircase to the entrance of the museum. _'Ishizu should be somewhere around here…'_ She entered the great entry hall and looked around for Ishizu's familiar face. _'But I guess her necklace already told her that I'm here…'_

Suddenly she felt the soft touch of a hand on her right shoulder and her eyes stared into Ishizu's piercing blue ones when she turned around. A slight smile crossed Jesara's face.

"My necklace told me that you're coming to see me. Should we talk somewhere more private?" Ishizu asked with her common gentle tone. Jesara answered her with a nod and followed her through long aisles to Ishizu's office.

Ishizu signalled her to sit down on one of the lounge chairs and took a seat across from her. Jesara's cheeks blushed a bit, Ishizu might have seen everything that happened yesterday through her necklace. Embarrassment filled her chest and she crossed her arms in front of it to provide herself with some comfort.

"I've seen what you did yesterday to cross my brothers plans. And my necklace showed me that your heart is confused, you don't really know what you feel, right?" Blue eyes examined her and they seemed to look straight through her soul. Ishizu always knew everything, Jesara admired her wisdom.

"I-I really don't know what I'm feeling." Jesara stuttered and eyeballed the egyptian woman with a worried glance.

"It was brave to use my brothers feelings for you as a weapon against him to save your friends. But something you tried to hide and forget came back to the surface again. You're not the only one who tried to replace love with hate… without success." Ishizu explained and placed her hand on the millennium necklace. "Jesara, there are bonds no distance or bitter experience can break. And you and my brother do have such a bond. Call it destiny, love or whatever you want. You don't want to confess to yourself that you still have feelings for my brother too; I understand why you want to hate him so badly… And that's what ties your mind up in knots."

Jesara stared at the black haired Egyptian across from her with a puzzled gaze. She knew Ishizu was right, Ishizu was ALWAYS right and sometimes she hated it so much.

"What did your necklace tell you about the future…? Is he… will he give up on his plans?" Jesara asked curiously.

"I'm not sure… My necklace shows me a few versions of the future. But I always see that our worlds fate is in great danger if we don't act now. You will help my brother to beat the darkness in his heart. But I'm sorry that I can't tell you more."

Jesara sighed and looked down to the crimson red carpet underneath her feet. "So I should make him think I care and feel for him to get him back to mind again? To betray him in some kind of way? Ishizu, you know I'm a terrible liar…"

A slight smile crossed Ishizu's face while she eyed Jesara carefully. "You don't have to lie. Be yourself, feel what you feel and… stay by his side, stay close to him. Look after him. He cares for you and your opinion. Let your heart guide you."

"I don't love him, Ishizu." Jesara said short and crisp. "But I'll try my best to help you and the Pharaoh to stop him… Odion is on our side too. But I wished I could tell my friends about everything…"

"Tell them when the time is right, but not now. If you tell them about Marik and your past he'll be out of his mind… And then we may won't have any more chance to save him from his demons." Ishizu stated in a serious tone.

"I hate to lie to the people I love the most…" Jesara sighed and stood up from the couch. She glanced over to the clock on the wall and gasped when she realised it already was one quarter to 2 o'clock. "Ishizu, I'm sorry. But I need to get going. My friends are waiting for me at domino main square. I need to win 2 more locator cards to enter the finals."

"I know. Good luck, but you will-" Ishizu said knowingly, but Jesara cut her off immediately.

"No spoilers, Ishizu!" Jesara stated, grabbed her handbag and headed for the door that led out of Ishizu's office. "I can do that on my own."

She smiled at the black haired woman with the piercing blue eyes. "We'll stay in touch."

Ishizu nodded at her in reassurance and with that Jesara left the room and sprinted out of the museum and headed into the direction of the nearest subway station.

**/ at Domino main square**

Jesara just made it in time and scanned the area of the main square for Yugi & the gang. There were still a lot of duels going on in the area and the place was crowded with tons of people, who watched the spectacle.

„Jess!" A familiar voice shouted behind her. It was Tea; also Yugi, Joey, his sister Serenity, Tristan and Duke Devlin accompanied her. „How are you doing?"

„Hi guys! I'm doing fine. Hope you're also doing well so far? I mean… after yesterdays events." Jesara greeted them with a gentle smile.

„Yeah, everything's good so far. But I guess Marik will try to harm us again… I bet my eye that we'll have to face him in the finals." Yugi stated and shot Jesara a worried glance.

„Don't worry, Yugi! I can't wait to kick his coward ass and give him what he deserves!" Joey proclaimed and puffed himself up like he was a smaller version of the incredible Hulk.

Tea's palm met her forehead again, but then another well known voice called them from afar.

„Hi guys!" Mai Valentine cheered when she came closer to the gang and greeted them with her signature lady-like charming smile. „How are the duels going so far?"

„Hey Mai! Fine! Joey and I did already qualify for the finals!" Yugi declared in his typical friendly manner and smiled at the blonde woman. „I guess you already qualified too?"

Mai shook her head and held up her four locator cards for the gang to see. „Not yet, I need to win two more to enter the finals. But I'm sure I'll find a perfect victim around here."

Joey's eyes swayed from Mai to Jesara before he spoke up. „Jess, you also need two more locator cards, right?"

Mai and Jesara grimaced at Joey, well aware of what he intended with that question. „You're right, Joey. But I don't think that…" Jesara nodded at the blonde, but Mai cut her off with a confident grin.

„I totally agree with you, Joey." she stated and smiled at Jesara. „Your Guardian Angel Joanne would fit perfectly into my deck of powerful fairies and amazon warriors, dear Jess."

Jesara raised a brow at her, not sure if it was a good or bad idea to duel with Mai Valentine. She knew about her tactics and that she was one of the top duelists in the Duelists Kingdom tournament. Mai Valentine was somebody no one should ever underestimate.

„So, what do you think, Jess? The winner of this duel gets two locator cards from the looser and goes straight to the finals… plus the rarest card, for sure." Mai challenged Jesara and her confident grin grew bigger and bigger.

„I guess you leave me without a choice, Mai." She answered and gave Mai a perky smile. „But I won't make it easy for you."

„I expect nothing but your best, my dear. But be prepared to loose." the blonde proclaimed and activated her duel disk. Both girls handed other their deck to one another to shuffle them, then they slid their decks into their duel disk.

„Go Jess! I know you can do that!" Joey cheered loudly and gave Jesara an overexcited, flirty smile.

„Two beautiful ladies fighting for the last place in the finals? That's gonna be the best part of the day." Duke Devlin chuckled and high-fived Tristan right beside him.

**/ meanwhile at Domino harbor**

Marik sat in his lounge chair on the deck of his yacht; his duel monsters cards laid spread out on the cocktail table in front of him. He eyed every card carefully and thought about every stragedy the Pharaoh used against him by now. In his hands he held one card he payed some extra attention on - it was the Winged Dragon of Ra. The finals were about to begin, so he made sure to make his deck perfectly composed to defeat the Pharaoh.

„Master Marik." A deep make voice spoke up behind him, but Marik didn't even turn around to see who dared to disturb him.

„What is it, Odion?" Marik growled without even taking one peek at his servant.

„I achieved twelve locator cards as you wished, Master Marik. Do you wish us to do something else for you before the finals start this evening?" Odion asked in an as neutral tone as possible. Since Marik lost the last duel against Yugi he needed to count on his plan B to defeat him in the finals of Kaiba's tournament.

„No. Everything will go according to the plan, Odion. You'll impersonate me and make them believe you are Marik. I already introduced myself to Yugi and his friends as a guy called Namu to win their trust. When time is right I'll reveal my true identity to them. Until then you'll act like you were me. Did I make myself clear, Odion?" Marik explained and his eyes were still glued to his egyptian god card in his hand.

„As you wish, Master Marik. Anything else before I give my deck a final check for the finals?" The bulky egyptian asked respectfully.

„There actually IS one more thing, Odion." Marik stood up from the lounge chair and turned back to face Odion. „I want you to keep an eye on Jesara. I want you to send one of my slaves to watch her until the finals start and I'm expecting an update every hour. Make sure she doesn't run away once more." Marik commanded and signaled Odion to leave now.

„Your wish is my command, Master Marik. I will se to it immediately." The olive eyed egyptian said and nodded before the turned on heel to leave Marik alone.

The sandy blonde teen took a seat in his lounge chair again and brought his attention back to his deck in front of him. His tanned hands stroked through his head when he tried his best to concentrate on his cards, but something was distracting him… again.

His glance wandered over to the spot on the deck of his yacht where Jesara kissed him yesterday to cross his plans. He wasn't possible to get the incidence out of his mind; the way her lips felt on his turned his thoughts upside down. Although she claimed that she didn't enjoy it at all and felt nothing, he knew she was lying. Jesara has never been a good liar and he knew her too well at all. Marik wondered if she may forgive him someday for what he did to her almost two years ago and if his apologize was good enough. Showing emotions or confessing a fault weren't his best talents at all - for him it was a sign of weakness to do so. Saying ‚I'm sorry' was hard enough for him.

Marik leaned back on his lounge chair and stared to the ceiling of the hangar, his hands crossed behind the back of his head. Oh what a ironical coincidence it was to find her here… as a friend of his greatest enemy. After such a long time after her runaway their paths crossed again. He wondered of it was a sign of fate? Will she return to his side again after he claimed the power of the Pharaoh to reign the world? Maybe it was a benefit for him to have Jesara as a direct connection to the Pharaoh too.

A soft smile crossed his tanned face when he closed his eyes and thought back to the kiss they shared. What will he say to her when they meet again? And how would she react after his confessions to her yesterday evening. This time he won't make the same mistake again, he'll never hurt her again. Deep inside of him he felt something he hasn't felt for years.

Devotion.

**/ back at the main square**

Mai managed to summon all three of her signature monsters - the Harpie sisters. She also increased their power with the magic card Cyber Shield which gave them 500 attack points on top - 1800 attack points each. On the other side of the field Jesara struggled to regain control over the duel. Mai recently destroyed her favorite monster, The Dark Valkyria by using a spell card that weakened it's attack points… She had no more monsters to protect her from another attack of Mai's Harpies and so she had only had 300 life points left.

„My turn." Jesara murmured and draw a card from her deck. _'This better be a card that gets me out of this mess.'_

It was Monster Reanimation. She sighed in relief; this card was going to turn the tables for her advantage. _'Thank Ra for this one…'_

„Ready to give up, Jesara? I need to be on time for the finals, so hurry up!" Mai teased from across the field, giving Jesara a confident smirk. If she only knew that she was one step away from losing the duel.

„Your date has been cancelled, Mai. Watch this!" Jesara placed her Monster Reanimation card on her duel disk and a bright light appeared in the field. „First I'll bring back my Dark Valkyria from the graveyard! But she won't be staying with us for too long."

Her monster, a dark winged fairy which was dressed with an armour made from black steel appeared in front of Jesara. (1800/1050)

„Next I'll play my spell card Cost Down! This card allows me to summon a level eight monster by just sacrificing one of my monster! Instead I drop one card from my hand to the graveyard. So I'm sending my Dark Valkyria back to the graveyard again to summon this monster: Emes the Infinity!"

A bright light enhanced the field and blinded the girls and everybody surrounding them.

„YES! That was a good one, Jess!" Joey cheered from beside the field and Jesara responded to him with a thankful smile. Within a second his face turned into the colour of a tomato.

Mai's eyes widened when a bulky warrior dressed in a golden armour and holding an enormous sword in his hands appeared on Jesara's side of the field. She wasn't expecting her to summon such a rare and powerful monster - she was almost done with her.

„Let me introduce you to Emes the Infinity. (2500/2000) With every monster he destroys his attack points will rise by 700, what makes his power almost endless. But I won't need his special effect, you only have 700 life points left, dear Mai. That means your life points will drop to zero after Emes destroys one of your Harpies!" Jesara declared and commanded her new, powerful monster to attack one of Mai's Harpies.

The golden warrior rose his enormous sword and with a loud _BANG_ one of Mai's Harpies disappeared from the field. The blonde woman's eyes widened in shock - she lost the duel and so her chance to enter the finals vanished away.

The monsters on the field faded away and Jesara went over to Mai for a handshake. „Great duel, Mai. I almost thought I'd loose the duel." She smiled and held out her hand for Mai to shake, who hesitated to do so.

„Yeah… that was an awesome duel…" Mai murmured before her hand grabbed Jesara's. „Good job, Congratulations." She gave Jesara a forced smile and handed her two locator cards and her rarest card, the Harpie sisters.

„No, keep the card, Mai. I know how much you love this card and to be honest, your whole deck wouldn't work anymore if I take it from you." Jesara smiled at the blonde and took the two locator cards out of her hand, but didn't touch Mai's monster card.

Mai shot her a puzzled look. „Are you sure? But you won it…and deserved it as well."

She shook her head and patted her hand on Mai's shoulder. „I'm sure."

„Thank you." Mai said and gave her a thankful glance. „So then… Good luck in the finals, my dear."

„Thank you, Mai."

Jesara and the gang waved goodbye to Mai who decided to leave battle city right away, she had nothing to do here anymore.

„You did it! I'm proud of you, Jess! Now we both enter the finals! But don't think I'll make it easy for you!" Joey cheered and nudged her gently.

„Nice job, Jess! Congratulations!" Yugi complimented Jesara and gave her a thumbs up and so did the rest of the gang. „So, let's find out about the secret location of the battle city finals."

Everyone nodded at him. Yugi laid all of his six locator cards on his duel disk. Suddenly a bright light in front of them appeared and formed into a hologram of a stadium. The gang carefully eyed the hologram before a female, computer generated voice started to speak out of Yugi's duel disk.

„Congratulations. You're a confirmed finalist of Kaiba Corporation's Battle City tournament. The finals will start at 6 pm at the Kaiba Corporation stadium in Domino City today. Please make sure to arrive on time."

„Ha, great! I can't wait to teach moneybags a lesson he'll never forget!" Joey yelled.

Everyone facepalmed again. Sometimes Joey was far too confident.

The gang decided to grab something to eat before the finals started at a nearby restaurant. They still had about 2 hours left and who knew when they'll get home again. The gang was too busy with congratulating Jesara for qualifying for the finals, that they didn't recognise a man of average size dressed in a familiar deep purple cloak across the square who had watched the duel between Jesara & May carefully.

_'__Master Marik, as you wished I'd like to update you. I have new informations about the girl you wanted me to have an eye on.'_

The cloaked man was - like every of Marik's slaves - connected to him via mind link to stay in contact with their Master at every time. By using a mind link he could command them by just thinking it. Being the wielder of the ancient millennium rod had its advantages.

_'__Then don't make me wait! What's the news, slave?'_ Mariks voice echoed in his slaves head.

_'__The girl named Jesara just qualified for the finals, Master Marik.'_ His slaved explained to his Master via their mind link.

_'__Perfect…'_

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**AN:** Hope you enjoyed that chapter. :-) And also that new little intimate part of it. And now: Time for a review! :*


	8. Chapter 8: The Vow

**AN: **Happy weekend everybody! Chapter 8 is finished and I think it turned out quite well! Be prepared for a lot of fluff and a lot of bad language. :P But I enjoyed writing it. In this chapter I wanted to build up Marik's and Jesara's relationship a bit more and I wanted to turn the tables. I hope you like how this chapter ends - believe me, it's SO CORNY! And I really hope you like how I built up the character of Jesara so far.

There's also a short flashback in this chapter. Please mind that Marik and Jesara are about 13 and 14 years old, so this flashback is about 2 years before her runaway.

I'm so happy that my FF already reached 200 visitors and some of you already favourited it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think :-) I know you read it :P

Happy reading! Enjoy the kitschiest chapter so far!

**Chapter updated: errors, details**

* * *

**Chapter VIII**

**The Vow**

"What do you think who the other finalists will be?" Jesara asked the gang curiously after she swallowed the last bite of her spicy chicken curry. They decided to stop by a Thai diner for a snack before the finals begin. She knew that Marik will be one of the finalists for sure. Although she recently was positive about keeping calm around him she got more and more nervous by every minute that passed by and that brought her closer to the begin of the finals - to him. And actually their encounter yesterday evening really did nothing to ease her nerves now.

Joey and Tristan munched away an enormous Thai dish that would be enough for five persons and everyone eyeballed the two boys with raised brows. How could they stuff themselves with so much food like that and still fit into their pants?

"Moneybags has qualified himself for sure." Joey spoke with his mouth full of Thai rolls. "Then there's Yugi, me and you, Jess. And I bet an eye that this disgusting ass named Marik will be there too."

Jesara's chest tensed up at his name and she felt how her stomach turned upside down. "That makes five. Three others to go. I'm curious." She muttered while her eyes drifted over to the window. The sun was about to set and bathed the streets in a beautiful and glistering warm light. Duelists were lingering around the area in the hope to qualify for the finals last minute. _'Why __couldn't my life just be normal? Just like them?'_ She asked herself mentally as she watched the ongoings outside.

"We shouldn't underestimate this Marik and the power of his millennium item. He may have lost the last duels against the ghost of the puzzle… but he has proven what he's capable of freaking everything to get my puzzle yesterday." Yugi stated and looked over to Joey who still stuffed his mouth with loads and loads of fried rice and noodles.

"He's gone too far, Yugi. And be sure that I'll kick his ass." The blonde teen proclaimed and finally finished his meal.

"Joey, Yugi's right. Who knows what he's comping up with next." Tea interrupted them and shot him an admonishing glance. Jesara's eyes were still glued to the hustle and bustle on the streets. Again their latest encounter came to her mind and seemed to repeat in front of her inner eye.

"If you say so." Joey murmured again and glanced over to the clock on the opposite wall of the restaurant. "Guys, let's get going. It's time to teach Mr. Rich & Famous a lesson."

All of them rolled their eyes in unison before standing up from their chairs - except of Jesara, who was still focused in the ongoing outside and daydreaming again.

"Jess? You come?" Duke tried to catch her attention by waving his hand in front of her eyes. The light grey haired girl blinked at him in confusion before she let out a deep sigh. Jesara nodded and forced a smile, but her body just filled with much more unease once again. "Coming…"

On the way to Kaiba Corp stadium the gang was loudly chatting about god-knows-what; the other finalists, who's duelling against who and if there will be crowds of people cheering them on. Serenity couldn't wait to see her brother duel in the finals - for her he was the greatest duelist of all. Her naiveté was too cute. In the mean Jesara remained silent wondering about too many things that tied up her mind. She wasn't sure how she could act like she didn't know Marik - it made her sick to lie to her friends, although it was for a good reason and if she didn't the worlds fate would be at stake. Ishizu definitely had her purpose to ask for her help and so did Odion. The thought of Marik trying to get closer to her again tightened up her chest. _'He's sorry… what a joke.'_

Another deep sigh left Jesara's throat when they finally reached the stadium. The gigantic building was still under construction and far from being ready to be a glorious location for the finals of a tournament like Kaiba would celebrate it. He didn't even care for money, he could host the tournament in a castle if he wanted to. So why did he choose to host it in the shell of a building?

When they stepped through the entry way of the stadium they soon saw a tall figure dressed in a fancy white coat and black plants standing in the middle of the empty stadium. It was Kaiba who seemed to be already waiting for them. Next to him stood his younger brother Mokuba who was announced to be the official Battle City referee. Mokuba gave them a kind smile when the gang approached, his big brother instead eyed them with his typical arrogant-badass-never-happy-expression.

"How could an amateur like you Wheeler get one of my duel disks or even qualify to join my tournament. I thought I made it clear that Battle City is only for the best duelists." Kaiba spat when Joey and the gang came to a halt in front of the brothers. His arms were still crossed in front if his chest when he gave Joey an appraising glance. "Don't tell me that a fool like you made it into the final round."

"Shut up, Kaiba. I won 6 locator cards and I'm ready to spank your arse, moneybags!" Joey yelled at the young CEO. He definitely gets furious too easily. Kaiba only answered with a chuckle; he knew it would annoy Joey more than anything else.

"May I please you to show your locator cards to identify yourself as official Battle City finalists?" An older man wearing an expensive suit and sunglasses at night stepped forward and gestured them to hand over their cards.

And so they did. Yugi, Joey and Jesara handed their six locator cards to the polite man whose name turned out to be Roland. He gave an ID cards to each of them instead, which they eyed carefully.

"What are these for?" Jesara asked curiously and gave Roland a questioning glance, which then drifted over to the young CEO. But Kaiba didn't even care to answer her question, instead his steel blue orbs were fixed on Yugi.

"You will need your ID cards to access your room and to identify yourself during the finals. Our final location will arrive every minute." Roland explained politely, but Jesara wondered what he meant by _access your room_, this location didn't even have toilets.

"Yugi, prepare yourself to surrender Slifer The Sky Dragon to me. We two will be duelling for it and at the end of this tournament I'll be the greatest duelist of the world again!" Kaiba called out and pointed his finger towards Yugi, who glared daggers at the young CEO.

"Shut up, Kaiba. Do us a favour and calm your ego." Tea spat and shot him an overly annoyed glare.

Suddenly the sound of faint footsteps caught their attention and the teens turned around in unison to see who was the next finalist. Jesara's heart skipped a beat when the footsteps crossed her ear. Was it him?

A male silhouette approached them, but his identity wasn't able to tell until he stepped into the spotlights that lightened up the middle of the stadium. His white hair waved gently along his pale face - it was Bakura.

"Bakura!?" Jesara gasped when she realised it was the white haired teen which she had last seen injured and weak in Marik's arms. How did he recover that fast? "What are you doing here? You need to be in bed!"

A charming smile crossed Bakura's face when he stopped before his friends and greeted them in his British accent. "I'm fine. And I won 6 locator cards to join the finals." He grinned and held them towards Roland to take them and hand over an ID card.

Joey's face went pale as porcelain. "What? How did you qualify yourself in such a short time!?"

"I have to admit…" Bakura explained softly. "I won them all in just one duel."

Everybody grimaced at the young white haired teen with their mouths agape. Only Yugi stared at him suspiciously. Something about him wasn't right. Just one day ago Bakura was injured, weak and wasn't able to walk on his own. Did the ghost of the millennium ring return to his mind?

"The next finalist is coming." Kaiba said cooly his eyes fixed to the direction of where Bakura just came from a few minutes ago. Again Jesara felt how her heart skipped a beat when she saw another male silhouette appearing in the shadows of the stadiums entryway. Sandy blonde hair and lavender irises slowly came into the light of the bright spotlights. She held her breath when her eyes locked with his for a second.

"Namu!" Tea exclaimed with a bit widened eyes in surprise to see the blonde teen again after he rescued their friend Bakura and was also attacked by the cloaked jerks yesterday. „What are you doing here?"

His gaze drifted away from Jesara and over Tea and put on his most charming smile. He rubbed the back of his head with his right hand and chuckled innocently. „Hi Tea! Good to see you all unharmed. I was wondering about you all after yesterday." Marik was an awfully good actor when it came to manipulating and deceiving people for his advantages. He could make people believe to be the nicest guy on earth. Jesara's eyes were still fixed on him, his nice-guy-acting made her stomach turn once more. It made her sick to see him deceiving her friends with his nice-guy-acting, although she knew all too well who and how he really was.

„Hey man, good to see you too! How did you break free, Namu? We didn't see you anywhere after we got kidnapped." Joey came closer to Marik to greet him.

„To be honest… I think they had no interest in kidnapping me. They knocked me out and when I woke up again I found myself in a back alley. This incidence was so weird…" Namu, or to be exactly Marik, explained to the gang who surrounded him. Once again his lavender eyes drifted over to Jesara for a moment, again they seemed to look straight into her soul. She instantly broke eye contact with him and looked away, but anywhere special. Covering her unease with this whole situation wasn't the easiest thing to do.

„You were lucky, man. So what are you doing here? Don't tell me that you're a Battle City finalist!" Joey asked and curiously raised a brow. Again a bright charming smile came across Marik's gaze when he held up his six locator cards and nodded. _'Of course he is...'_ Jesara rolled her eyes in annoyance.

„I guess so…" He chuckled softly and handed them over to Roland, who replaced them with another ID card. „And you all did qualify too? Oh my… I guess I won't have any chance against you."

Joey grinned at his compliment and waved at Yugi to come closer. „Yes, we three also made it to the finals, man. I think you don't know my best friend Yugi yet?"

Yugi streched out his hand to Namu / Marik to shake, but his expression remained a bit suspicious towards the blonde teen. Something about him gave Yugi an uneasy feeling. „Hi, I'm Yugi! Nice to meet you. I've heard that you rescued Bakura yesterday. Thank you for that!"

Jesara's blood was boiling while she had to watch how Yugi shook hands with the one who almost killed him and his best friend less than just 24 hours ago. But for Ishizu's and Odion's sake she tried to keep her fury at bay as elegantly as possible. _'Oh Yugi, if you only knew...'_ She sighed mentally. Additional to that their intense moment that definitely went too far ghosted in her head mercilessly. How for Ra's sake could she let that happen?

Marik accepted his hand for a shake and smiled at the little boy. „Nothing to thank for. I only did what any other would have done too. I see that he's doing good. Bless god!" Marik looked over to Bakura and greeted him with another overly friendly smile, which turned into a slightly noticeable smirk for a second before he looked over to Jesara once again. Marik drew closer and smiled innocently to greet her. „I'm also very glad to see you safe and sound here, Jess."

She blinked at him calling her by her nickname and bit her bottom lip to hold back a _‚Fuck you'._ Marik seemed to be too relaxed with the situation; he knew she could blow up his cover within seconds and ruin his complete plan in deceiving her friends to get closer to them. Ishizu, Odion and Marik had put her in an unsustainable situation and she hated it. Although she was actually in control and able to blow up his cover it felt like he was in control instead. Jesara never felt that lonely in the past two years than she did in this special situation. Marik gave her that special innocent pretty boy smile - just like nothing ever happened between them yesterday. Her stomach squirmed.

„Hi." she muttered and tried her best to force a credible smile to her gaze. His charming and gentle smile made her cheeks blush a bit. For a split second she didn't see the manipulative, frustrated and capable-of-everything man in front of her that she was frightened of for so long. There wasn't the tiniest indication of malice written to his tanned face. She wasn't sure if he acted or if it was actually a faithful expression. Wether or not, right now she saw the man she fell in love and used to share her life with a long time ago. And their passionate kiss yesterday was another painful, but pleasurable reminder of their past.

„Guys, someone is coming." Joey shouted out and pointed towards the entry of the stadium. Another male, but much larger and bulky silhouette, appeared from the shadows. A long deep purple cloak elegantly wafted from his tall body. Everyone stood with their mouths agape when the tall man finally stepped into the spotlights. A masculine tanned face could be barely seen underneath the purple hood. His piercing olive eyes drifted over the group of teens that glared daggers at him - except Jesara and Marik.

She looked at him in confusion, she never saw him wearing a that serious expression. For her Odion was one of the kindest people she ever met in her life. But - Wait! _‚When Marik acts like a boy with the ridiculous name Namu… does he intend to make them believe… that Odion is Marik?'_ She thought when her amber-olive eyes were glued to Odion.

„Tell us your name." Kaiba spat cooly and glared at the bulky man.

Odion grabbed something from underneath his cloak without breaking eye contact with the gang. They gasped and cringed when they saw the millenium rod in his hands, pointing it towards them dangerously.

„My name is Marik." Odion declared in a severe growling tone.

_'That must be a joke. Damn, Marik... Seriously!?'_ Jesara huffed mentally as her hands turned into fists.

„I remember your shitface! Come here so that I can beat the crap out of you!" Joey yelled, but before he could draw closer to the cloaked man to punch him the blonde teen was held back by Tristan and Duke. Joey squirmed in their grip and growled in anger.

„Joey, hold on. You'll get your chance to fight him!" Tristan intended and tightened his grip to hold Joey back. Meanwhile Jesara's curious gaze drifted from Odion and the millenium rod in his hands over to Marik who still stood close beside her. She raised a brow like she was awaiting a good explanation, their eyes locked again. If looks could kill Marik would have dropped dead right away.

Everybody's attention was focused on the dangerously looking „Marik" who insulted Joey to tease him a bit more. After all Odion knew exactly how to act like Marik would do in this situation.

Jesara cringed when she suddely felt Marik's breath on her skin when he whispered something into her ear. „Don't worry, that's an authentic copy. The real millennium rod is still in my possession, dear Jesara." The dangerous gentleness of his breath stroking down her neck shot a shiver down her spine and she didn't know if she liked or hated it. Mentally she prayed for option number two.

Without attracting anyones attention she made two steps to the side to put some more distance between her and her ex. Odion went over to Roland to exchange his locator cards for his duelist ID card.

„Hey Joey…" Namu / Marik spoke up to catch his attention. „What's wrong with this guy? Who is this Marik?" Oh how good his acting was. He sounded so unbelievable innocent und unknowing right now - it was so good it pissed Jesara off like hell.

„Oh, you know, Namu… that's the son of a bi*** that assaulted and kidnapped us. You'd better stay clea-" Joey explained to the wolf in sheep's clothing, but was cut off my Jesara. „Marik is a disgusting prick that loves to torture other people and is capable of nearly everything. And that guy doesn't even have the guts to fight his duels on his own, instead he sends off his slaves to fight his battles. " Her amber-olive eyes glared daggers at the real Marik and she hoped he got the message in the roundabout way. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked him straight into his piercing lavender orbs.

Yugi and the other ones eyed her in confusion, they never saw or hear her swearing or using such a bad language. Namu gazed at her with widened eyes and raised brows. „Ohhhhhkay. Thanks for the info." She could tell from his tone that she hit the bullseye with her words. If they would have been alone in a room now she was sure that he would freak out completely at her statement. But her temperament got the best of her right now and she didn't care about challenging him. Marik's plan depended on her mercy. But he was lucky that she promised Ishizu and Odion to keep calm. So why not put his limits to the test by vexing him?

A low humming noise that came closer caught their attention, when the teens looked up they saw a huge blimp floating above them. It was one of Kaiba's airships. The blimp landed in front of them in the stadium and the engine noise lapsed into silence.

"Now I know what you meant by _the final location will arrive soon._' Jesara muttered and glanced over to Kaiba, who still posed cooly in front of the airship like he was the king of the world. The door of the blimp opened and revealed a staircase.

_'__Oh Ra… If it wasn't already bad enough to be stuck with Marik in the finals to cross his foolish plans, but I can't believe it's getting even worse… To be stuck on an airship with Marik is much worse.'_ Jesara sighed, knowing what was coming next.

"Alright, duelists! As you may already know the semi-finals are being held on the stratos-deck of Kaiba Craft 3 on the way to another secret location for the grande finale!" Roland announced professionally and handed over to Kaiba.

"You'll fight 4000 feet over ground. The winds and the chilly air will put your skills and stamina to the test. If you can't handle it you don't belong here." Kaiba said in his typical arrogant tone. "The ID cards we gave to you have a number on it, we'll choose the first pairings randomly according to this numbers. They're your access keys to your rooms at the same time, so don't loose them."

The teens boarded the blimp to take a first look of their surroundings.

"Make sure that we take off in 5 minutes, Roland." Kaiba ordered his employee when he ascended the staircase of his aircraft.

"But Seto! We're still waiting for the eighth and last duelist!" Mokuba urged his older brother.

"All three god cards are on board. I won't matter about someone being late, it's not my problem, Mokuba." The young CEO spat and disappeared into the blimp. Roland and Mokuba looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders in unison. Then a female silhouette appeared from the shadows of the entryway of the stadium… coming closer. It was the eighth duelist.

**/ on the blimp**

The teens found themselves in a huge hall with big windows that allowed an astonishing panorama view of Domino City. The blimp had reached its travelling hight. The city lights glowed and sparkled underneath them and looked like an ocean of stars were laid at their feet. Luxurious furniture and lounge chairs surrounded them; Kaiba's interior stylists did have taste in design.

Jesara carefully scanned her surroundings and wondered if there were single or multi-bedrooms on Kaiba's aircraft. While she stepped around in the big hall she made sure to keep as much distance between her and Marik as possible. But her thoughts were interrupted by Joey when he came over to her and laid his arm over her shoulders. Jesara grimaced at him when he did so, but didn't do anything to make him stop.

"What about enjoying the view of Domino together? I'm sure we won't have the chance to see something comparable soon." Joey grinned at her with blushed cheeks. When Jesara looked at him she could see Marik from the corner of her eye glaring daggers towards Joey. She knew this expressions on his face all too well; he was furious… about what? Was he jealous? Oh right, he claimed that he still had feelings for her lately. Yes, he had proven that all too well yesterday. _'Let's put it to the test.'_

"Nothing I'd like to do more, Joey!" Jesara said softly and gave him her most charming smile. Joey led her to the nearest window to enjoy the amazing view of the Domino skyline; his arm still laid over Jesara's shoulders that kept her close to him. She could see Marik through the reflection of he glass, his eyes were narrowed dangerously and if looks could kill Joey would drop dead right away. His whole body was tensed up; this time he wasn't able to cover his fury and she felt like she was in control over him again. A slight smirk crossed her face when she looked at Marik's reflection in front of her. _'Well deserved, Marik… Well deserved. How does it feel for you not being able to control everything and everyone?'_

Joey pointed to several buildings to show Jesara where they actually were flying over right now. Jesara felt how he tightened his grip on her a bit, pulling her closer to him, but then she felt sorry for making him built up false hopes to tease Marik. He didn't deserved to be used and she hoped that Marik would think the same sometimes too.

Rolands professional voice spoke up right on cue and she softly squirmed free from Joey's grip to turn around and hear what Roland had to say. She felt that Marik's eyes were still glued to her, she hated it to be stared at.

"Alright, duelists! We reached our final height and dinner will be served in one hour! You'll find your rooms down the floor. After dinner the first pairing will be chosen for the first round of the semi-finals." Roland explained still wearing his sunglasses. Did this guy even see anything? "Let me know if I can help you with anything."

"May I ask you a question?" Jesara interrupted him and Roland nodded at her, awaiting her question. "When will we arrive on this secret location and when will we get back home?"

"We expect to arrive on our final location tomorrow afternoon and get back to Domino the following day." Roland answered kindly, leaving Jesara with her mouth agape. _'I'll be stuck with him for the next two days? Oh Ra… you're kidding me!'_

"I can't wait for dinner! I'm wondering about the menu!" Tristan cheered and Tea rolled her eyes at his statement.

"You ate just an hour ago! And I want to remind you that you ate enough for 3 days!" Tea urged him.

"We're strong boys and strong boys need a lot of food!" Joey sung and rubbed his belly.

Jesara only rolled her eyes too and looked over to the hallway that led to the private rooms. Maybe it was a good time to to freshen up a bit, she was still full from the meal they had at the thai restaurant about a hour ago. "Guys, I'll go and check out the rooms. But I guess I'll skip dinner, I'm still stuffed with thai curry." She said and turned on heel. "CU later!"

She came to a long hallway with several doors on each side, every door had a number on it like the ID cards Roland gave to every finalist. Her card had the number 3 on it, so she looked out for the matching door. Jesara slid the card through the reader that was attached to the door and with a short beeping sound it slid open. The room's furniture was in the same style like the big hall she came from. It had all in it she needed; a bed, a big table with lounge chairs, a desk, a mini fridge and she also had her own bathroom in it. And thank god Kaiba decided to offer single bedrooms.

She unmounted the duel disk from her arm and placed it on the table in the middle of the room. Then she took off her leather jacket, threw it over the nearby lounge chair and stretched herself. If she knew she would leave the city for two whole days she would have brought some clothes to change with her. After Jesara freshened up in her room's bathroom she slumped onto the bed and stared onto the ceiling. Maybe a power nap would do her good.

The looks Marik gave her earlier crossed her mind. He was jealous, he really was… A tiny smirk crossed her face again. Mr. Always-In-Control lost control and it felt good to baffle him. For the first time in the last two years she didn't fear him. Why did it feel so good to make him jealous? Because she had some sort of control over him? Or did she like it because his jealousy proved that he really still had feelings for her? Her palm met her forehead and she let out a heavy sigh. Why should she even like it after all he had put her through? She closed her eyes to get them some rest before the first duel of the semi finals were about to begin and she prayed that the first pairing wouldn't be her and Marik before she dozed off.

**/ dream / flashback**

She sat on her bed and was sunk in a book she placed on her lap. It was an old Egyptian book about the nineteenth dynasty and Ramses II, long time before the great Pharaoh who saved the world from its destruction was born. Egyptian history was her favourite thing to read and learn about. Jesara was wore a dress made from Egyptian linen with a golden belt around her waist to make it look more feminine. Her ebony hair gently fell around her face and down to her chest.

The clashing sound of her rooms door startled her from her concentration. It was Marik who ran into her room and slammed the door shut behind him. Something was distressing him - again. He wasn't the same after his initiation of the tomb keepers. And after his fathers untimely death the Ishtar clan was led by Ishizu until Marik would turn 16. They had a lot of fights and disagreements from time to time. It was nothing new to see him like that.

"Whats wrong?" Jesara asked concerned and raised a brow when Marik slumped onto the bed beside her. He laid on his back and stared to the ceiling with dangerously narrowed eyes. A growl left his throat before he answered her.

"Ishizu won't allow me to go outside and see the world like we did on the day father was murdered by the pharaoh. Why can't we introduce the clan to the new age and modernise it a bit? I'm sick of living in a birds cage." He spat and turned himself to face the dark haired girl with the amber-olive eyes beside him. She looked at him with a sympathetic glance and stroked his sandy blonde head to provide him with some comfort.

His lavender eyes stared into hers; he suddenly sat up on the bed beside her and pulled her closer to him.

"Let's run away. I'm sick of being a tomb keeper and waste my life in this cellar. I want to fulfil my true destiny. Let's start over new. Come with me." He proposed and rested his hands on her shoulders. Marik's face was bloody serious and she stared into it in confusion.

"B-but we can't leave all this behind… w-we ha-… what about our ancient duty?" She stuttered and couldn't believe that he suggested to run away.

"I'll go with or without you… I'm done. I'm starting to live MY life; the life my destiny wants me to live. But I want to share it with you like I did before. So please, come with me." Marik begged and gently laid his forehead onto hers.

Jesara sighed and wrapped her arms around the sandy blonde boy in front of her. A golden ring on her finger glistened in the dim light of the candle that stood on her nightstand.

"I won't ever leave your side. I vowed it to you. My home is where yours is and my heart will follow wherever yours will lead you." She whispered and tightened the hug.

**/ end of the dream / flashback**

_Knock knock_

The sound of somebody knocking on her rooms door startled her out of her sleep. Why did her memories start to haunt her in her sleep? For her it felt like it was yesterday when Marik decided to leave the tomb and deny his fate as a tomb keeper of the Ishtar clan.

How long did she sleep? Hopefully it wasn't already time for choosing the first pairing. Jesara sat up on her bed and glanced over to her rooms door; she stretched herself before she stood up to see who's there.

_Knock knock_

Again somebody knocked on her door waiting for her to answer it. Maybe it was Tea; since only qualified duelists had their own room she maybe wanted to fresh herself up at Jesara's bathroom. Damn Kaiba for not providing door viewers.

Jesara pressed the button to make the door slide open from the inside. Before she even realised who came for a visit strong hands grabbed her upper arms and pushed her inside. The door slid shut again behind her and…it was Marik. Her widened eyes locked with his narrowed lavender ones when she found herself pinned to the wall again, squirming to loosen his tight grip on her arms - but to no avail.

"You really think that's funny, aren't you?" Marik spat and eyed her with the same furious glance he gave her in the big hall earlier. She gasped when he tightened the grip on her upper arms once more. Fright filled her whole body and made her tremble slightly. "How dare you to insult me in front of my enemy like that? And how dare you to let this peabrain touch you! I should cut off his fingertips for laying his hands on you!"

Marik was close to shouting at her, his loud voice made her cringe. Maybe it wasn't the best of all ideas to tease him the way she did earlier, although it made her feel powerful over him. Obviously it was time for the payback now. How could she even think that her actions would remain unpunished. Action and reaction.

"You don't own me anymore, Marik… or do you prefer Namu?" Jesara tried her best to cover the fear in her voice and make it sound more confident and brave. She didn't want to fear him anymore. "Actually, what crap of a name is that anyways? However, it's none of your business who I let touch me or not. You had your chance a long time ago and that's it."

"Guard your tongue! You belong to me and you know that!" The sandy blonde spat and pushed her against the wall with almost all of his body. "Or did you already forget about that little moment yesterday? Stop betraying yourself!"

Jesara's eyes narrowed at him dangerously. "I don't. And yesterday didn't mean anything, such as that kiss on your stupid yacht. We had this topic before. It was just a freaking lapse! And now let go of me!"

"You blame me that I broke every promise I gave you while you did the very same, Jesara! You vowed it to me and the whole Ishtar clan to stay with me and support me with all my plans! You're nothing better than me!" Marik yelled and startled her again, but she tried to remain strong.

"That was before you had the foolish idea to become pharaoh yourself, punished me and almost killed my friends! I guess there's a slight difference!" She snarled and squirmed in his grip once again, but Marik was much stronger than her; he always was. Keeping her at bay was always an easy task for him.

"How many times more do you want me to apologise!? I'm doing this for us! To allow us to live the life we deserve!" With every word he spoke his tone grew more gentle. Maybe there was more truth in them than she thought.

"Ha! I know that you're not a part of the life _I_ deserve after all! Everything was just perfect before YOU walked into my life again!" Jesara spat. The more Marik tightened his grip on her and with every word he said she got more furious. "But Mr. I-Control-People-Whenever-And-However-I-Want could easily take over my mind and get his will. Why don't you use your stupid rod on me and spare this discussion to both of us?" Her words teased him to the bones.

A growl left Marik's throat when his right hand loosened its grip on her. With a loud bang his fist hit the wall only inches away from her face. Once again her amber-olive eyes widened in shock and stared into his. Sandy blonde bangs hung into his angry tanned face that was just inches away from hers. For a moment none of them said just a single word.

"Jesara…" Marik broke the silence between them; his voice way softer than just a second ago. "I won't EVER use the rod on you… When will you understand that you can't betray yourself that you still feel for me the same way I do for you after all those years of separation, although you try so hard and fail so bad." He muttered and gently stroked her cheeks with his hand that was slightly swollen from the punch against the wall. Jesara's heart thumped up to her throat - harder and louder with every second that passed by.

"I don't betray myself, Marik. We're done… We're done since you punished me with your whip and scarred me for life. There's nothing but reluctance I feel for you." She said stern and tried to fill her words with as much seriousness as possible, but within the second she finished them she knew it wasn't true; she knew she lied… betrayed herself, although she wanted it to be true so so so badly.

"You don't." His lavender eyes bore into hers. It was like he already knew she was lying again. Jesara swallowed hard to clear her throat. Marik could be so stubborn.

"Then prove me wrong…" she whispered. Her back still pressed against the wall; his hands still touching her warm cheeks and stroking some light grey hair strands out of her face. _Thump thump thump_. Her heart thumped a million miles a minute. They both stood in silence, their eyes still locked and only the sound of their breaths filled the room.

Suddenly she felt his left hand wandering from her upper arm to behind her back and down her spine. With a jolt he pulled her close to him, closing every distance between them and pressed his lips on hers. Jesara's eyes widened in shock - he kissed her… again. Jesara pressed her hands against his chest to push him away from her; she squirmed in his grip. It felt so wrong, but still so good. Just like yesterday evening. Marik deepened the kiss like he did last time and so desire finally overwhelmed her, washing away every anger and unease from her mind. She stopped trying to push him away. And so she gave in, closing her eyes and kissing him back. Slowly she rose her arms to wrap them around his shoulders and to press her whole body even closer against his muscular chest. A soft groan left her throat when his tongue begged for entrance before she allowed him to do so.

Jesara wasn't sure how long they both shared this wild and tempestuous kiss - she lost every track of time and so she lost every control over herself. Giving in to him again, feeling the warmth and comfort he provided her with felt so familiar, so right. She sensed the honesty in his kiss and movements, in every touch and in every inch of his body. Ishizu was right, Odion was right… _He_ was right. Deep down in her she felt how the walls she built to keep him out forever tumbled down.

Another soft groan left her throat when Marik broke the kiss for a second to look at her. His lips formed into a smile while he eyed her with half opened eyes. Jesara bit her bottom lip as like she didn't want it to end; she craved for the touch of his lips on hers the moment they left hers. Her breath was heavy like she just ran a marathon.

"Evidence enough?" Marik whispered; he was out of breath too. His thumb gently stroked across her lips while he awaited an answer from the girl with the amber-olive eyes in his arms.

"Maybe..." Jesara answered under her breath. "But don't expect that everything is forgiven and forgotten… There's still a lot we need to talk about, Marik." Her voice was only a low whisper. He drew her closer to him and pulled her into a tight hug.

Suddenly she sensed how Marik's hand wandered underneath her tank top and onto her bare back, onto her weakest point - her scars. His gaze grew sadder when his fingertips ran over a one of them, he could feel the stigmatic tissue. The touch of his soft hand on her skin made her cringe. "Don't." Jesara muttered and pulled away from him. "Not… there."

"I'm sorry." Marik apologised again and gave her an understanding look. "Take your time."

"You've never been that insightful since… your initiation." She determined and glanced at him with bleary eyes. His expression was a mixture of severity and some kind of relief that she changed her view of him.

"May I beg you something before we… work this out?" Jesara crossed her arms in front of her chest; she didn't know how he would react to what she was about to say next.

Marik shrugged and shot her a curious glance. "What do you want to beg me, my dear Jesara…?"

"Stop your battle against the Pharaoh and my friends… please."

* * *

**AN: **So, what do you think of this chapter? :) so much kitsch! Pls make sure to leave a review and favour the story if you liked it.

BTW: Since there are also readers from Germany and Austria I wondered if I should also provide a German translation of the story. :-) Let me know if you would like that!

Chapter 9 should be online next week, I'm still wondering how to write the first duel without making it boring :P

Happy Weekend!


	9. Chapter 9: 1 Step Forward - 2 Steps Back

**AN: This chapter comes sooner than I thought. But when you're in the flow you need to use it, right? First of all I want to apologise for skipping a big part of the first duel. I promise to go into detail in Jesara's duel. But why write something that you all now from the Anime?**

**Chapter 8 was very kitschy, this is "almost" kitschy and "almost" not. :P Be prepared for a lot of drama in chapter 9.**

**Make sure to review this chapter! Happy reading!**

**Chapter IX**

**One Step Forward - Two Steps Back**

"Please, Marik. Stop this insanity…" Jesara pleaded and shot him a soliciting glance. If Ishizu was right about the future and her power to make him give up on his plan this maybe was the right time to try. "It's all I want. Why don't we tell the Pharaoh about his secrets on your back and help him to fulfil his destiny? And as soon as we did so we can live wherever we want to, start over new, live the life in freedom you always wanted to live. It could be so easy. You don't need the Pharaoh's power to be happy."

Marik's expression turned dark again; a soft growl left his throat. Things were about to get better between him and his ex, why did she have to ruin this moment now?

"That's out of question, Jesara. He killed my father. He's the reason why we had to spend our lives underground like rats. I've come so far and I'm just an inch away from claiming his power! Won't you like to live the life of a queen instead of a normal girl? I want him to pay for everything that he's done to our family. Revenge is so close." Marik's serious tone was back and the gentle expression on his face has vanished.

She sighed. Did she really think that it would be that easy? He could be extremely stubborn, he always has been. "They are my friends, Marik… I can't let you harm them. And I don't want to live like a queen, I'm okay with being normal." This situation was awful; to be caught right in the middle.

"Friends…" Marik chuckled sarcastically and drew closer to her again. "May I ask you on whose side you're playing?" He ran his fingers gently through her hair and wrapped a few of her hair strands around them. His soul had so many different shades; Marik could be so charming and caring, but his mood was able to change to coldness within seconds.

"I'm afraid that I don't have an answer for your question… You put the worlds fate at stake. If you don't stop your plans I can't hinder you to fight against the Pharaoh, but I won't support you in any way. They will find out sooner or later about our bond and our past; so they will hate me anyways. I don't want to make it worse than it already is; don't get me wrong. I don't want to harm them by helping you." Her amber-olive eyes locked with his lavender ones. If there only was something she could do or say to make him stop his plans… It would have been helpful from Ishizu to provide her with some kind of manual to change his mind.

Marik let out a growl; this actually wasn't what he wanted to hear from her. His hand drifted from her hair down her neck and to her shoulders. He hasn't touched her for so long. Even if she denied to help him with his plans it felt so good to feel her slightly tanned, flawless skin underneath his fingers again.

„I'm glad that you still have those earrings I gave to you for our anniversary." He said in a gentle tone - completely out of context. She raised a brow and looked at him in puzzlement. His fingers touched her golden earring that had she shape of an egyptian ankh. A warm shiver shot through her body when his fingertips nudged her neck slightly what made her cheeks blush within a second. Touching this particular spot drove her bananas - in a special way. Jesara inhaled deeply before saying anything in return.

"Mhm." She mumbled. _'What are you doing to my head & heart, Marik…'_

He had the ability to turn her head upside down within seconds since they knew each other.

"Besides being the symbol of life…" Marik continued. "…the ankh stays for the unification of man and woman. So I thought it would be a perfect gift for you."

Jesara swallowed hard. She remembered the day he gave them to her. It was the last anniversary together before she left him and her home to come to Domino.

For a minute they stood in silence again, but then Jesara decided to come back to their current topic. "Don't change the topic. Why is Odion acting as you?" She asked the sandy blonde teen that stood just inches away from her; close enough for her to feel the warmth of his body and breath on hers. Marik took a step back at her question and let out a sigh.

"Yugi and his foolish friends think that my name is Namu, I want them to trust me. I'll reveal my true identity when the time's right. I'm some kind of a trojan horse to be exactly. Why do you ask?" Marik explained and rested his hands on her waist. Once more his touch made her shiver.

"Don't talk about my friends like that when I'm present, Marik. You know my standpoint. Call me Switzerland." She said in a sharp tone and took a step back. Although she gave in to him again and was closer to forgive him than she ever thought she would be, Jesara wanted to make herself clear once more.

Marik smirked and chuckled at her statement. "Alright, Switzerland."

Jesara rolled her eyes at him, but before she could say anything in return three loud knocks interrupted their conversation. "Jess! The first pairing for the first duel will be chosen in five minutes!" It was Joey who came to inform her. Her face turned pale when she heard his happy voice. When she opens the door Joey will catch "Namu" and her literally in the act, he'll freak out and she had no good explanation for it at hand. Jesara grabbed her leather jacket and put on her duel disk that she had placed on the table before.

"Won't you like to open the door?" Marik smirked at her with crossed arms in front of his chest. He knew that Joey would get mad to find him in her room. For Marik it was the perfect chance for a payback. "Or should I?"

"Shut up. That's not funny. Don't dare you to drop a single word about what happened in here, did I make myself clear?" Jesara hissed and glared at him. She went over to the door, but before her hands reached the button to open it she felt Marik's breath on her ears and neck again. It gave her goosebumps.

"Got you, Switzerland. There's one last thing I want to do before you open that door, ok?" He whispered into her ear while his chest touched her back. But there was something else that touched her back; something hard and sharp; something cold. _'Is that…. No. The Rod…'_ Jesara's body froze in shock.

"You said that you'd never use the rod on me…" she whispered without looking at him, but staring at the closed door in front of her. His nose gently touched her ear and she could feel the smirk on his face.

"I won't harm you, trust me. This is just for some more… let me call it _privacy_ for us." Marik chuckled into her ear and a golden light brightened the room for just a few seconds. Nothing happened - at least she thought so.

"What the…?" She gasped and looked into his lavender gaze beside her in curiosity. There was nothing different - she still felt the same like nothing happened.

"You'll see soon enough, my dear Jesara." Marik pressed a soft kiss onto her temple and whispered into her ear again. "I love you."

Her heart skipped a beat. A sigh left Jesara's throat when his confession met her ears. His words touched her heart, they were like a poem to her ear & heart, although her brain screamed at her to run.

"I-I…" she stuttered. "Okay…" From all words existing on this planet she chose this one. _'Okay?'_ But it was the only word she was able to say. Her brain and heart had diverse opinions about their reunion.

_Knock Knock _"Jess? Are you there? Come on now! We'll be late!" Joey was getting impatient out there. The more time she needed to open the door the more suspicious it will be. Marik took a step back to leave Jesara's personal bubble. Jesara cleared her throat and pressed the button to let the door slide open.

"Hi Jes- Ahm… Hi… Namu?" Joey gasped and stared at them in puzzlement. "W-what are you two…?" Jesara could tell from his face that he wasn't prepared to find Namu - or Marik to be exactly - in her room and he wasn't happy about that incidence.

"Hi Joey." Marik put on his smile again and greeted the blonde teen in a warm tone. "Jess was so kind to give me some duelling tips, you know. She knows some really good strategies, it will be hard to beat her."

Joey blinked at them while his head turned into the color of a tomato. He was jealous - without a doubt. Hopefully he didn't find it suspicious. Jesara forced a smile on her slightly tanned face to gloss over the whole situation. "Yes. Namu is a good duelist, but there's still some room for improvement." She said and smirked at Marik who raised a brow.

"Ohhhhhkay…" Joey cleared his throat. "Let's go. They're choosing the duelists for round 1." He muttered and forced his typical Wheeler-grin. There was something about Namu that he couldn't trust. When they met him yesterday Jesara acted unlikely around him. The way they stared at each other… For him this whole thing looked fishy.

All duelists came together at the great hall and waited for the beginning of the lottery. Jesara made sure to keep distance to Marik, she didn't want to gain more attention than they already had - thanks to Joey.

"Yugi, let me tell you what…" The blonde whispered towards his little friend. Yugi blinked at him and waited for what Joey had to say. "When I came over to Jesara's room I found Namu with her… They acted strange around each other from the very beginning. There's something strange about that. I don't trust that guy."

"You're just jealous." Yugi glanced over to Jesara who stood a few steps away from them. His eyes wandered over to the sandy blonde Namu who positioned himself on the other side of the hall. "But I'm not sure if we can trust him too."

"Alright! Dear Battle City finalists! We're now choosing the first pairing for the semi-finals. Before that I want to remind you of your number for the tournament! Duelist with the Nr 1: Seto Kaiba, Nr 2: Yugi Mutou, Nr 3: Jesara Jendayi, Nr 4: Joey Wheeler, Nr 5: Ryou Bakura, Nr 6: Namu, Nr 7: Marik Ishtar and … and… ahhm…" Roland announced in his professional manner, but when it came to the name of the eighth duelist he started to stutter - like he had no idea.

Jesara raised a brow and eyed him in confusion. Why the hell didn't he know the name of duelist Nr 8? Who was he or she? She glanced over to Marik and shot him a questioning glare.

_"__I know what you think, but this time I have nothing to do with that."_

She cringed when she heard Marik's voice in her head like he was right in her mind. What - The - Fuck? She stared at him, she heard his voice but his lips didn't move. Where did this come from?

_"__I told you that you'll see soon enough. I connected us via mind link - thanks to the millennium rod. Now we can talk without catching attention from the others."_ Marik stared back at her and shot her a smugly smirk.

_"__You're kidding me! Go out of my mind, Marik!"_ Jesara glared daggers at him.

_"__You'll get used to it, believe me. By the way… talking via mind link can be very… stimulating." _Marik chuckled in her head. It made her crazy that he found his way into her mind. Stimulating? What did he intend with that? Dirty talk her to death? _'Oh Ra…'_

"Ok, let's start with the lottery! Attention please!" Roland spoke up. He still wore his sunglasses, although it was already about 8 oder 9 pm. He stood in front of a huge, royal blue curtain - it definitely hid something behind it. "Raise the curtain, please!" - And so it did.

The curtain revealed a huge lottery machine that looked like a Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. 8 balls filled its stomach. Kaiba definitely loved fancy stuff that looked like his signature monster.

"We're now drawing the first two duelists." Roland exclaimed and activated the lottery machine. The balls were flying around wildly. Jesara grew more and more anxious; once again she prayed that it won't be her and Marik.

The first ball dropped into the mouth of the middle head of the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Jesara's heart skipped a beat when Roland grabbed it out of the machine to announce the first chosen duelist.

"The first duelist for round 1 is… Ryou Bakura!" Roland declared and held up the ball with the number 5 on it for everyone to see. Bakura blinked in surprise and everyone stared at him in excitement.

"What? Me? I'm the first? Oh my…." Bakura wondered and rubbed the back of his head.

Then the machine came to life again and the balls flew around in it once more. Everyone in the room hold their breath, tension filled the great hall and the teens stared at the machine in excitement. Who will be Bakura's opponent?

"And the second duelist is…" Roland spoke paused to make the announcement more thrilling. "Yugi Mutou!"

"Yeah! Yugi! You're first!" Joey cheered and high-fived his little friend, who was still blinking at Roland, not getting a grip of the situation being next. Jesara made a few steps closer to Yugi, giving him a congratulating glance and smile.

"Congratulations, Yugi. I can't wait to see you duel. Good luck." She said softly and hugged him.

_'__Don't tell me that I have to watch you as my enemy's cheerleader, my dear Jesara.'_ Marik spoke in her mind again. His voice was stern. Jesara looked at him over Yugi's shoulder with a raised brow. They were talking via mind link for just 5 minutes and he already annoyed her like hell.

_'__One word: Switzerland. He's my friend. I won't be your partner in crime, remember?'_ Jesara thought cooly and looked away from him. They shouldn't eyeball each other the whole time; Joey was jealous enough and already a bit suspicious about her and _Namu_.

_'__Not yet.'_ Marik's chuckling voice echoed in her head again. How could someone be so annoying and so… gentle at the same time. She felt like she was the one who was pulling the trojan horse inside the walls. Come what may, but she won't even lift a finger to help him with his plans. Changing his mind won't be easy.

**/ on the stratos deck**

Bakura and Yugi stood face to face on a huge duelling platform that lifted a bit after Roland announced the official beginning of the first round. Something has changed about Bakura; his behaviour and even his voice changed into something dark - something evil. Jesara and the gang gazed at the white haired teen with their mouths agape - it was the ghost of the millennium ring. Somehow the ancient item made its way back to him. Tristan had thrown it into the endless forests of Pegasus' island during Duelists Kingdom - they were sure that they finally got rid of it.

"How did he get it back? Tristan, I thought you threw it away? I'm certain that he's up to no good." Jesara worried and glanced over to her brunette friend Tristan. But he was just as puzzled as her about the return of the ghost.

But also Yugi has changed. He appeared taller than usual, his eyes narrowed a bit and his voice sounded more mature. His whole behaviour was bursting with self-confidence. It was obvious; the Pharaoh took over the duel.

"Yugi! Take care, please! You know what he's capable of!" Tea shouted towards Yugi. He nodded at her before his gaze wandered over to the white haired teen again. Bakura always was a kind and polite guy, but now his face was plastered with the grin of a demon.

The duel started and Bakura started over with the first turn. He just summoned a quite weak monster, which was easy for Yugi to send to the graveyard. The following turns went quite the same; everybody was wondering if there was some kind of strategy behind. Jesara stared at the white haired teen in confusion; his gaze wandered over to Marik every once in a while like they were… Jesara gasped and looked over her shoulder to her ex in disguise who stood a few steps behind her. Were they also talking via mind link? Her eyes narrowed dangerously at him, but she tried her best to avoid to catch the attention of her friends by doing so.

_'__I wondered about how long it will take you to figure it out that he's working for me.' _Marik said in her mind while his lavender eyes locked with hers. His typical smirk crossed his lips.

_'__What is this all about, Marik?'_ Jesara growled back.

_'__Your friend Bakura - or to be exactly the entity that lives inside of him - duels for me. He will win Slifer the Sky Dragon for me. I promised him the millennium rod in return when he successfully won all the god cards for me.'_ Marik explained and his violet eyes stared straight into her soul again. It was so strange for Jesara to hear him talk without his lips moving.

_'__Do you really suck that much at duel monsters that you need him to duel for you? Stop using my friends, Marik!" _She spat and looked back to Yugi and Bakura on the duelling platform.

_'__I always have a plan B to make sure to achieve my goals, dear Jesara.'_ His words spoke in her mind again. _'By the way… I like that new hair colour of yours."_

She blushed at his compliment that crossed her mind and thanked god that her back was turned towards him, so he couldn't see her reddened face. _'Don't change the topic!'_

All she heard was his chuckling in her head. Jesara sighed and recalled the past few days in her mind. Within only 48 hours Marik forced his way back into her life without almost no effort and again he started to dominate her. He messed up her new life completely, put her beloved friends in danger and used one of them for his advantages. And still a vibe of warmth and affection embraced her heart when she looked at him. _‚This must be how masochism feels like. Fifty shades of grey is a cheap novelette compared to this fucked-up situation.'_ Jesara thought to herself while her fingers played with the ring underneath her tanktop that hung on her necklace. She wasn't sure if Marik was able to hear all her thoughts but prayed for the opposite.

_‚__You're comparing our relationship to Fifty Shades of Grey?'_ His voice snickered in her head again. Jesara's face blushed even more at the fact that he WAS able hear everything. She balled her fists; could someone just give her a parachute so she could jump off the blimp? All she wanted now was to curl up and die.

_‚__Point A: We don't have some kind of a relationship, okay? Call it… complicated. Point B: I'd like to punch you so hard for using one of my friends for your sick plans again. And C: Would you be so kind to leave my mind right now?' _Jesara thought; she felt how his eyes stared at her from behind and it gave her shivers.

_‚__A: Your body language tells me something else. B: The ghost of the ring isn't your friend, my dear Jesara. But I'd love to see you try. I'm sure we'll end up like we did half a hour ago anyway. C: Mhh… No, I think I'll stay for a bit lomger.'_ Marik bantered in her mind.

_‚__However…'_ Jesara spat back, all she wanted was to end this annoying conversation with him. She knew he was smirking at her now.

Suddenly a huge dark cloud started to cover the duelling platform and the blimp completely, thousands of terrifying eyes appeared in the fog above and stared down to them. While Jesara was busy arguing with Marik she must've lost the thread of what was going on on the platform. Bakura just played the spell card Dark Sanctuary, but she had no idea what it was actually doing. Jesara never heard of that card before; all she knew was that Bakura loved zombie and ghost monsters.

Tea, Joey, Tristan, Duke and the others beside her started to shiver when the eyes glared down to them. „Oh my god! What's that!?" Tea exclaimed. Bakura chuckled evilly at his opponent who cautiously looked around to get a grip of the new situation he found himself in.

„Because you destroyed and sent my Dark Necrofear to the graveyard I've been able to summon the Dark Sanctuary. Prepare to loose, Yugi!" Bakura laughed at him with his eyes dangerously narrowed. An evil smirk was plastered to his pale face.

„Tell me what this card does, Bakura!" Yugi prompted. By now Yugi still had all of his 4000 life points left and controlled his Gamma The Magnet Warrior and his Dark Magician Girl. Bakura's lifepoints were close to 0, he just had 150 LP left and no monsters on the field. Something bad was about to happen if he was so sure to win this duel.

„I don't have any monsters left to protect me, so why don't you attack me and find out yourself, little Yugi?" Bakura crossed his arms in front of his chest and shot him a confident glare.

Yugi ordered his Gamma The Magnet Warrior to attack Bakura directly, but his monster suddenly stopped and Yugi's lifepoints dropped to 3250. „What the… Bakura! Tell me why my attack was negated! Now!" He was furious and growled at the white haired teen across the field.

„Hahahaha. When Dark Sanctuary is active the Ghost of Dark Sanctuary lingers in its shadows, which choses one of your monsters and possesses it. When you attack me with a possessed monster the attack will be negated and you loose the equal llifepoints to the half of your monsters attack points. Got it? Hahahaha" Bakura laughed when his life points rose to 900. „And by the way. I don't want to waste your precious life points, so mine will rise whenever you take damage!"

„Oh my… that does look bad." Jesara sighed. Again she felt how Marik's eyes pierced into her back, but she decided to ignore it as good as possible. She'd waste her energy on pleading him to stop staring at her.

The duel went on and Bakura regained control over the duel when he played his spell card Destiny Board. With every turn another Spirit Message was activated from his hand or deck. When Yugi wasn't able to beat him within 5 turns from now the board will finish the word FINAL, one letter each turn, he'll loose it.

**/ 10 minutes & a few turns kater**

Bakura's Destiny Board already spelled the letters F, I and N, so Yugi just had 2 turns to go. Water was up to his neck now, he had to turn the tables - NOW. He drew a card; his eyes widened when he looked at it. It was his god card, Slifer The Sky Dragon. By now he controlled three monsters on his side; Gamma The Magnet Warrior, The Dark Magician Girl and Big Shield Gardna. Yugi still stared at the card he had just drawn.

„Come on, Yugi! You can beat him!" Tea shouted from besides the platform and so did Joey and Tristan. „You can do it. man!"

„I didn't want to use this powerful card… but I guess you leave me no choice, Bakura! The worlds fate is at stake and I can't allow you to cross my destiny's plans!" Yugi declared and shot the white haired teen an angry glare. „I sacrifice my three monsters to summon the almighty Slifer The Sky Dragon!"

Yugi's monsters faded in a bright light; thunderbolts appeared in the sky and the clouds of Bakura's Dark Sanctuary vanished from the field. An enormous crimson colored creature formed in the sky above them. Jesara had seen this monster before and gasped at its glory.

Bakura's eyes widened in shock when the great god monster roared at him; ready to attack and wipe out the rest of his life points. He had nothing on his side of the field to protect him. The duel was almost over, there was no chance to turn the tables once more.

Jesara glanced over her shoulder to check out on Marik's reaction. His lavender eyes were grievously narrowed; things were not going exactly to plan. She was sure that he was insulting Bakura through their mind link right now. No one should better disappoint Marik, he freaked out far too easily - she knew best of all.

_‚__I guess this isn't the outcome you expected, huh?'_ Jesara vexed him, giving him a slight smirk over her shoulder.

_‚__Not exactly…'_ He growled what made Jesara's smirk only grow a little bit wider. Marik just fell flat on his face.

„Slifer! Attack him directly and destroy the rest of his life points!" Yugi commanded his dragon. A huge energy ball formed in its mouth; a loud roar filled the atmosphere. When the dragon shot his attack towards Bakura the light was too bright to see anything but white. When the light weakened the god dragon was gone and left the duelling field completely empty. Bakura laid on the groud, unconscious.

„Bakura!" Tea shouted out loud. She, Joey and Tristan climbed onto the platform to help their white haired friend. „He's hurt! We need to get him to a hospital!"

Jesara climbed onto it too and checked out if Bakura was breathing. „He's breathing, thank god." she said in relief. „Kaiba! He needs medical care! We need to land and bring him to a hospital!"

„There's no way that I'll interrupt this torunament, Miss Jendayi. I have a doctor on board who will take care of him. Mokuba, please call him." Kaiba said in his typical arrogant manner. Mokuba dialed a number on his blackberry and called for the medical support team. They soon arrived on the stratos deck and laid Bakura onto a gurney to transport him to the medical room of Kaiba Craft 3.

Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan and Jesara followed them into the elevator, before the doors closed completely Jesara shot Marik a pissed off glare. _‚That's your fault, Marik. You wreck whatever crosses your way.'_ she spat in her thought and with a _ding _the doors closed in front of her.

Since Bakura was knocked out because of the attack from Slifer The Sky Dragon Kaiba allowed a 1 hour break before the next duelists for round two were chosen. The gang joined together at the medical room to watch after Bakura, who was still unconscious. Kaiba's doctor told them that he will be fine, but he needs to run some tests to be one hundred percent sure.

"Thank you, doc." Joey sighed and looked at the white haired teen on the hospital bed.

"I hope he gets better soon… Yugi took this fancy ring away from him. The entity that lives in it means nothing but harm to him…" Tea said with a worried voice. Jesara looked over to her friend and then back to poor Bakura. Marik didn't even care about the health of his partner in crime. For him Bakura was just another slave… another nobody… another footnote in his plans. He didn't care if Bakura lived or died.

Anger built up within her body… and so did the guilt. Would Bakura be okay if she told Yugi about who Namu really was? Maybe. Would he be safe and sound if she hasn't been so weak to let Marik wrap her around his little finger again? Maybe.

She felt awful. She felt like a candle in he wind. Was she responsible for what happened to Bakura too? Maybe.

Jesara's brain screamed for her to do something about it, blow his cover, warn their friends, hate him - hate him so so much. Her heart instead wanted to forgive him and bumped a hundred miles a minute when he was present. It was like a drug for her. But in this particular moment her brain screamed louder than her heart. She was furious.

_'__Marik, we need to talk.'_ She thought and wondered if he could still hear her.

_'__Go on.'_ His voice said in her mind short and crisp.

_'__Not in via your crappy mind link.'_ She hissed back.

_'__Then come to room Nr 6.' _Marik invited and said nothing else.

Without saying anything to her friends to excuse her leaving she turned on heel, left the medical room and headed to Marik's room. Instead of knocking she hit the door three times it a row so hard that it hurt. The door slid open and revealed a pair of piercing lavender eyes staring at her. Jesara bolted in and waited until the door closed again before she started to bawl.

"YOU are a reckless jerk, Marik! Do you even care about somebody else than yourself!? Bakura got hurt because of you and you're not even batting an eye!" She roared out loud in fury and did the one thing she warned him about earlier. She bitchslapped him.

"I bet that I'm just another footnote in your sick plan! And I've been too dumb to see it! I can't believe that I was actually starting to-" Jesara was raging; she never was out of her mind like in this moment. But Marik silenced her when his palm met her mouth. He shoved her backwards with all his strength until she slumped onto his bed and Marik pinned her down. His hand still covered her mouth; her widened eyes stared into his when she squirmed under his grip.

"Calm down, Jesara." Marik hissed and pushed her down into his mattress a bit harder. "This duel ended up quite unlucky, but it's not my fault that your friend Bakura wasn't able to keep his side of the bargain."

Jesara tried to say something, but his hand still kept her mouth shut. She glared at the sandy blonde with the lavender eyes that kneeled above her.

"AND…" Marik paused a second before he continued. "You've never been a part of my plan." He slowly removed his hand from her mouth and stared into her still angry amber-olive eyes underneath him.

"How can I be sure that you're telling the truth this time while you're telling lies to everybody else?" Jesara spat and relaxed her body a bit. Resistance was futile.

"Because I said so." Marik answered in a stern, but still honest tone.

"Very trustworthy, Marik." She laughed out sarcastically. "Let go of me now."

"It's the truth. Seeing you again was a lucky coincidence, but never a calculated part of my plan." He explained himself and loosened the grip on her.

Jesara propped herself up underneath him, bringing her face closer to his. If looks could kill he'd drop dead right here and now. "Lucky coincidence?"

He nodded at her; their noses were almost touching while their eyes were locked intensely.

"You know what?" Jesara whispered. "I don't know who you are. You're not the Marik I fell in love with." With that she shoved him away from her and stood up from the bed, leaving him with his mouth agape.

Before Jesara activated the button to open his rooms door she glanced back at him over her shoulder. "And break the mind link. I don't want you in my mind." She said cooly and with that she left the room.

Jesara crossed the floor and opened the door to her own room. When the door slid shut behind her she let out a heavy sigh and leant her back against it. Tears gathered in her amber-olive eyes. They were exactly where they started again. One step forward, two steps back. He wasn't the only one she didn't know anymore. She didn't know her herself right now.

She sobbed heavily and slid with her back down the door. Where was Ishizu when she needed her the most?

"Dear duelists!" Rolands voice from the intercom system startled her. "Please proceed to the great hall. The duelists for round 2 will be chosen in 5 minutes!"

**AN: Ha! Turned the tables again. Sorry for that :-)**

**If you didn't get the Switzerland-joke: You know that I'm living in Europe, Austria to be exactly. I guess you know about the EU :P Switzerland is the tiny state in the middle that never joined it. They're neutral and are happy that they don't have to deal with all the crap the EU does. If you're caught in the middle it's a common phrase to say "I'm Switzerland' here.**

**I hope you liked the chapter and all the drama. Chapter 10 will be up soon. I didn't expect that writing a FF would be so much fun :-)**

**Xoxo & make sure to leave a review! :-)**


	10. Chapter 10: Who I Am

**AN: Chapter 10 is up & finished! :D And you know what? It sucked. It was so boring writing this duel of Joey and Odion, because I didn't find a perfect workaround to skip or shorten it a bit more. So I'm sorry, but you have to deal with that now. Hopefully you like it anyways.**

**As the title says I'm dropping the bomb of who Jesara really is and what her relationship with Marik really is about. Let me know if you did expect it or not :P **

**Also I will skip or workaround the Noah-part of the story. I hated it and it was so unfitting to the whole plot.**

**Please leave a review and let me know if you have any scene suggestions for the upcoming chapters.**

**Happy reading and enjoy!**

**Chapter X**

**Who I Am**

"Please proceed to the great hall of Kaiba Craft 3 and be prepared to be chosen for the next duel of the semi-finals." Roland's voice came from the intercom. Jesara inhaled deeply and let out a sigh. With her palms she wiped away the tears from her cheeks and got up from the floor. Her make up was ruined, that was for sure - so she decided to touch it up in her bathroom and save what could be saved.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror; her now dry tears had left a dark trace from her non-waterproof mascara down her face and she added buying a waterproof one to her bucket list as soon she gets back to Domino. It took her a few minutes to fix the mess in her face but at least it was acceptable. Hopefully her friends and especially Marik won't recognise that she cried because of their clash.

It was time to make her way to the hall before Joey would come to remind her again. Once again she inhaled deeply to calm down her nerves and went out of the bathroom towards her rooms door. Jesara pressed the button beside it to activate it, but startled when her eyes suddenly stared into lavender irises again. Marik's room from which she came just ten minutes ago was vis a vis from hers; they both must have activated their door at the exact same time and in her opinion it was the perfect worst timing evef. She wanted to keep distance to him for the rest of their trip or until Marik said something like an apology or steadied down. Nice try.

Jesara cleared her throat and looked down to the floor. She hesitated to make the first step. An awkward silence surrounded them.

"Hey Jess! Hey Namu! Ready for the next duel?" Yugi spoke up when he came around the corner and approached the two teens, wearing his typical innocent smile. Both startled at his voice and stared at him. Jesara greeted him with a smile; maybe he came just on cue to get her out of this awkward situation.

"Sure." She said softly. "But I hope that it won't be me and you, I'd like to stay in the finals for a bit longer." Jesara chuckled. Marik nodded in agreement and gave little Yugi one of his faked charming smiles.

"Then, off we go!" The little teen said and looked at them, waiting for them to get going.

_'__Nahhh… It would be more awkward to leave them both behind to get some distance between me and… him." _Jesara's inner voice sighed. They walked down the corridor to the hall. Marik walked right beside her and Yugi followed them right behind. Why did she get in one inconvenient situation after the other.

"Huh, Jess?" Yugi spoke up from behind them. "Where have you been earlier? When we've been at the medical room to look after Bakura you left without saying a word. You are okay, aren't you?" He asked in a concerned tone. Jesara's body tensed within seconds. He was right; she didn't. And she couldn't blame him for asking. Jesara knew that her friends recognised her unlikely behaviour since the first signs of Marik's arrival in Domino.

"Ahm…" Jesara murmured and put on her thinking cap for a good excuse. "I-I felt a bit dizzy. I guess it's the cold wind on the deck and maybe the hight, so I took a little power nap." It was the best alibi that came to her mind. Marik didn't say just one word to join the conversation and she was thankful that he didn't.

"Oh, yes. I know what you mean. It's quite chilly up there." Yugi replied soft.

The walk to the hall felt like hours; walking side to side to him was so awkward after what happened in his room earlier. His cheek wasn't reddened from when she bitchslapped him, but her hand still burned like hell. Did they reach a dead-end? She wondered if she disappointed Ishizu and broke her promise to her.

When the teens arrived in the hall they were kindly greeted by the other duelists and her friends who wanted to cheer them on - except of Mr. Rich Bitch Kaiba and Odion. Jesara looked at the bulky man in the deep purple cloak who leaned with his back against the wall at a corner of the hall. They still believed he was Marik and he did a great job in acting like him so far. His expression was dark, his eyes glaring at everyone in the room. Odion has been always there for her and he'd walk through hell to protect the Ishtar family. He was wise and had always a good advice for her if she didn't know what to do. Right now she'd give so much if she could hug him and ask for his advice in this dead end situation she was caught in.

Jesara made sure to stay a few steps away from the real Marik. She could still feel that her eyes were slightly burning from crying earlier. They were probably reddened and she didn't want him or anyone else to see it.

But she felt his gaze resting on her and tried her best not to look at him. Jesara didn't want him to see her eyes, although she knew he already was well aware of the fact that she had cried because of him. They met on the floor earlier… he knew. She sighed and turned her face away from him a bit more.

She wondered if he really did break their mind link and left her thoughts as she asked him to. They never shared the same mind before and it was awkward to hear him speak in her head.

_'__Marik…? Are you there? Can you hear me?'_ Jesara asked in her mind to put it to the test if he had left her mind or not.

Silence.

_'__Marik?'_ She asked again and looked over to him.

Silence.

Marik looked back at her from the corner of his eye when he felt her gaze on him. He didn't hear her. He was gone. He did break the mind link. First it annoyed her to have him talking to her inside her mind, but right now she wasn't sure what annoyed her most. Being connected with him via a mind link or hearing nothing but the silence… being alone.

"Alright, duelists!" Roland spoke up and stepped onto the little platform on which the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon lottery machine stood. "Now we're choosing the next pairing for round two of the semi finals! Make sure to remember your number!"

Then the machine came to life again and the balls in its belly swirled around. Jesara hoped so much not to be chosen next, she wasn't in the perfect mood for a duel. Her heart skipped a beat when the first ball dropped out of the lottery machine.

"And the first duelist for round two is…" Roland grabbed it from the machine and inspected it for the number on it. Everyone looked at him awaiting his announcement of the number. "Marik Ishtar!"

Jesara glanced over to Odion, but his expression didn't even change after the announcement that he was next. _'Oh Odion… what are we doing here..?'_ Her inner voice asked herself. The gang shot him an evil glare. Whoever was the pitiful duelist to fight him, he or she had to prepare for another dirty duel.

"Alright then." Roland said when the machine came to life the second time. The balls ruffled against the glass of it, ready to choose the next duelist.

_'__How funny it would be if Marik would have to duel himself.'_ She thought and her inner voice chuckled a bit. The familiar sound of the lottery machine made her look up to Roland. The second duelist was chosen.

"Duelist number two against Marik Ishtar is…" Roland declared when his hand grabbed the ball from the machine. "Joey Wheeler! The duel starts in 5 minutes! Please proceed to the startos deck."

"Yeah Joey! You're next! Congratulations!" Tristan cheered and patted his shoulder.

"Hahaha! Perfect! Now I can kick his cloaked ass and take revenge for what he did to my friends and me!" Joey grinned and shot Odion an evil glare. But Odion said nothing, he just stared back at the blonde teen with his poker face.

Yugi and Tea weren't that happy at all, concern was written to their faces.

"Joey, please be careful. You know that he's not playing fair and he's capable of everything." Yugi urged his friend. Joey underestimated things too easily when he was furious.

"Yugi is right. Please don't be reckless. Beating Marik won't be easy." Tea said and gave him a concerned glance.

"You'll see, I will frazzle him out and make him pay for harming my friends! Let's get this started!" Joey grinned and headed for the elevator to the stratos deck. Yugi and Tea sighed and glanced over to Odion, who still leaned his back to the wall and said nothing. He looked dangerously and evil in his deep purple outfit. Both then followed Joey to the elevator.

"Joey won't have a chance against Marik and his Winged Dragon of Ra." Kaiba said cooly when he and Mokuba walked by Jesara, leaving the hall and following the other duelists to the stratos deck.

_'__Marik won't ever give Ra out of his hands…'_ Jesara thought and glanced over to the real Marik, who stood there with his arms crossed in front of his chest. She shot him a frowning glare before she cold-shouldered him and left the hall.

**/ Stratos Deck**

Joey and Odion took place on the duelling platform and started to shuffle each others deck. The blonde shot him an evil glare while she shuffled and shuffled his opponents deck.

"Wheeler! You've shuffled enough cards for three duels. Now get going!" Kaiba hissed from beside the platform.

Jesara stood behind Yugi, Tea, Joey's sister Serenity, Tristan and Duke to be out of their sight since her eyes were still burning a bit and felt swollen. She cringed when Marik positioned himself right next to her.

In the meantime Joey and Odion prepared themselves for the start of their duel and activated their duel disks.

"Are you ready to get a clip round your ears, you baldheaded sourpuss!?" Joey yelled and pointed his finger towards Odion. "I'll beat you in only 9 turnes, Marik! So be prepared to loose this!"

"Aww Joey is the best! He already calculated the whole duel beforehand! You're the best big brother!" Serenity shouted and cheered at the blonde teen. The gang face-palmed in unison. Her naiveté did almost hurt.

Odion's hand grabbed something from behind his back and then the millennium rod came to the surface from under his deep purple cloak. The gang gasped when they saw the golden item in his hands. Odion pointed it towards Joey to remind him of the power the item gave him; to remind him with whom he was talking. "Swear how much you want! But you won't win this duel. The ancient magic and my destiny to rule the world as Pharaoh will give me the power to defeat everything in my path. You won't have a chance! And now make your turn!" The baldheaded man said with a serious voice.

Jesara gave the real Marik beside her a dangerous glare. She didn't get the sense of his plan to deceive her friends that he's a guy named Namu. What difference would it make? Behind his back she caught a glimpse of the real millennium rod in his hands. Hopefully he won't use it on Joey again to manipulate the duel.

"Well then, Marik! I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack position!" Joey declared and placed the card onto his duel disk. A dark iron knight formed in front of the blonde. But Odion didn't even bat an eye at Joey's powerful monster. (1800 / 1600).

Odion drew a card and then activated a spell card. A huge egyptian temple emerged behind him. Jesara stared at it; old memories crossed her mind when she saw the familiar ancient architecture of the temple. Joey stared at the building in confusion.

"This is my Temple of Kings, a magic card like you've never seen it before! It gives me the power to activate trap cards in the same turn they were placed. And it also limits your playable magic cards to two per turn." Odion explained still wearing his poker face. "And I play two cards face down. Your turn, Wheeler."

"Joey needs to be careful, Marik definitely has a trap card to protect himself from a direct attack of Joey's monster." Yugi said in a stern tone; his eyes glued to the ongoing duel on front of him.

It was Joey's turn again; so he drew his next card and inspected the cards in his hand. He thought about his strategy and what to expect from Marik's trap cards.

"Watch this! I summon Tiny Guardian in attack position and end my turn." Joey said and his monster came to life beside his Gearfried.

"Alright, Wheeler." Odion said and drew his next card. "I place two more cards face-down and pass to you."

Jesara raised her brow, this strategy was typical for Odion. He loved trap cards and constructed his deck from almost only trap cards. But wasn't it suspicious that Odion had a completely different way to play than the real Marik?

"Joey! Please be careful about his face down cards! Marik will block your attacks with a trap, that's for sure!" Jesara shouted to warn her friend Joey not to attack him, although it might be tempting. The blonde glanced down to her and gave her a friendly smile. His cheeks blushed a bit when their eyes met. He appreciated it that she cared about him.

Jesara felt Marik's eyes on her again and looked at him from the corner of her eyes by intuition. She knew what he was thinking; he knew that she was well aware of Odion's trap strategy and she risked his plans by telling Joey about it. Their eyes locked for a few seconds before Jesara's gaze drifted back to Joey again. He stared at her with a raised brow; Namu's and her eye contacts vexed him and she was sure he's feeling more and more suspicious about their behaviour.

"I would appreciate it if we can finish this duel this week, Wheeler! Make your turn!" Odion requested in a bugged tone.

"Calm down, you baldheaded jerk!" Joey yelled and narrowed his brown eyes dangerously towards his opponent. "I summon my Hayabusa Knight in attack position (1000/700) and now I will beat you in just one turn! I activate my Giant Trunade! This little baby kills all of your face-down cards!"

A huge tornado formed on the field and heavy winds started to blow across the field. Joey grinned certain of success when the storm approached Odion's face down cards. Odion's gaze was still unfazed.

"You wish, little Joey. I activate my trap card Judgement of Anubis! It negates the effect of your Gains Trunade and destroys it!" Odion flipped his trap card and within seconds the tornado vanished from the field, leaving Joey with a pissed off gaze towards him. "And now the second effect of my trap card activates! It destroys all of your monsters on the field and influences damage to your life points equal to the half of the total attack points of them!"

Joey and his friends beside the platform gasped when all of his monsters got destroyed. His life points fell to 1900, leaving him without any other card for his protection on the field. Now Joey really was furious.

"You just destroyed my best cards, you jerk!" He yelled and balled his fists while Odion's face remained expressionless.

"Didn't you realise it yet that you can't win this duel? You're not strong enough to stand the ancient powers!" The bulky egyptian replied. After he drew his next card he again placed two new face down cards on the field.

"If you didn't get it yet, Marik… This game is called duel monsters and that suggests that it's supposed to be played with monsters!" Joey teased.

Marik was smirking beside Jesara, she could feel it. They both stood behind everybody else, out of their sights and she toyed with the idea of step on his foot. She glimpsed over her shoulder to check on Marik's millennium rod he held behind his back. It seemed to be active, a low light enhanced the Anubis eye on top of it. Marik might be talking to Odion through their minds. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I'll stop playing trap cards immediately if you find any rule that forbids me doing so." Odion replied in a stern tone and glared over to Joey, awaiting his next turn.

"He's playing too reckless. Joey already lost more than the half of his life points…" Tristan growled from beside the platform.

"My brother will turn the tables and win this! I know it!" Serenity said and folded her hands like she wanted to pray for her sibling. Kaiba and his brother Mokuba stood on the other side from the field to watch the duel, but the young CEO remained unimpressed from Odion's trap card tactics.

The duel went on; the following turns Odion and Joey only drew their cards and passed. Joey's gaze grew more and more annoyed by every turn they made. He had enough from his opponents traps. The duel started to get boring.

/

Serenity was right about her brother. As the duel went on he managed to turn the tables and gain control over the duel against Odion. He was able to summon his Battle Warrior, Swordsman of Landstar and his powerful Jinzo, which had the special effect to make all trap cards useless. Odion had three Embodiments of Apophis on his side of the field; but since they were trap card monsters they were useless to him too. So Joey left Odion with nothing to protect him from a direct attack of his three monsters.

"Guess you didn't expect that, you bald jerk!" Joey teased and laughed heavily. "I attack your life points directly! You're almost done! I told you not to mess with Joey Wheeler!" He commanded his monsters to attack, one after the other did how he said. A deep growl left Odion's throat when his opponents attacked hit him, wiping away the most of his life points. Now he only had 400 left. Joey was about to win this duel.

Jesara recognised that the light of the millennium rod behind Marik's back enhanced a bit, his gaze grew darker when his lavender eyes glared dangerously towards his servant on the platform. She was certain that he wasn't amused of the change of the duel. Marik could be so offending when he was furious, he never accepted when his servants made mistakes. He was probably mentally yelling at him right now.

Next Odion activated his spell card Swords of Revealing Light to hinder Joey to attack him with his monsters for at least three turns. Joey growled when he realises that he was stuck with the swords, unable to attack and finish the duel. But instead he sacrificed his Battle Warrior to summon his Legendary Fisherman in defence position, which he had won from his duel with Mako Tsunami. Yugi and the others cheered when the sea warrior appeared in front of Joey besides his Jinzo. He also switched his two other monsters to defence position until the swords will loose their effect.

Again it was Odions turn, but his eyes widened when he looked at the card he had just drawn from his deck. He stared at it in puzzlement like he had seen a ghost or something like that. Jesara raised a brow in bewilderment. Why did his mood change from his typical cool behaviour to some kind of shock? What did he draw?

_'__It's not easy to baffle Odion… What happened?'_ She thought in confusion.

Odion's olive gaze drifted down to the sandy blonde teen beside her for a second; so did hers. Marik was smirking again; his eyes locked with his servants. Jesara was sure they were discussing this incidence via mind link. If she only knew what this sudden change of Odion's mood was all about. She wished she didn't ask him to break his mind link with her, although she was still upset with him. Whatever scared Odion… it meant nothing good.

"What's wrong, you jerk? Not the card you expected?" Joey teased from across the field to catch his attention.

"I just draw the card that will lead to my victory, little Joey! And I decided to place it into the chest of my Temple of Kings to summon it when the time's right!" Odion explained when a hologram of a duel monsters card disappeared into the big chest of the temple behind him. But they couldn't make out which card it was exactly. Jesara felt a queasy feeling in her stomach as like she already knew what this was all about. But she hoped that her gut instinct will prove her wrong soon.

Jesara's body tensed up and her eyes were again glued to the ongoing duel in front of her. But then she cringed when she felt a breath on her neck. Marik had drawn a step closer to her unobtrusively and leant in to her when nobody was watching them. They still stood behind all others, so nobody noted something.

"Don't worry. It's just a copy of the original." He whispered into her ear, so low that nobody else heard him saying anything. Jesara's turned her head to look at the sandy blonde beside her. She didn't knew what exactly he meant by that, so she shot him a questioning glare.

"He drew the Winged Dragon Of Ra. If I want them to think that he is me, then he has to duel like me, my dear Jesara." Marik whispered again and smirked at her. Jesara's eyes widened in shock and stared into his lavender gaze. He did what!?

"You made more copies of the egyptian god card…? Are you insane?" She hissed as quiet as possible, but right now she wanted to insult him at the top of her lungs. She couldn't believe what he just said.

"We tested them, this one will work. I'm sure he is able to command Ra." Marik whispered cooly. Feeling his face that close to her neck made her flesh crawl like it always did when he got that close to her. No matter how much she displeased him and no matter how much so wanted to hate him, he always had this special effect on her.

"I hope you're right… Otherwise you'll anger the gods." She whispered back. "And now get out of my personal bubble." With that she turned her gaze back to the duel and made a little step to the side to get some more distance between her ex and her.

During the next 15 minutes the duel turned to the worse for Joey. Although he also managed to summon his Insect Queen, which he won in his duel with Wheevel Underwood, Odion summoned his powerful ritual monster Mystical Beast Serket (2500 / ?) in attack mode. The Swords of Revealing Lights were still active and hindered Joey to attack. First Odion's monster Serket destroyed Joey's Jinzo and absorbed it's power. Half of Jinzo's attack points were added to those of Serkets, making it 3700.

"Oh no Joey!" Tea shouted out loud beside the platform when his monster got eaten by the huge beast.

"Joey! You can beat him, I now you can! Trust the heart of your cards!" Yugi, who was now controlled by the ghost of the puzzle, tried to motivate his friend.

But the situation seemed to be hopeless for Joey. Luck wasn't on his side, every card he drew couldn't help him to get out of his misery. Odion's beast Serket then absorbed Joey's Insect Queen and his Legendary Fisherman and the half of their attack points. (5825/?)

Joey had nothing on the field to protect him from a direct attack. He only had 200 life points left and really needed a miracle to win this duel. But although he was just inches away from losing it Joey shot his opponents a confident smirk. His friends wondered why he was smiling, although none of them could imagine just a single turn he could make to win this.

"You know what Marik? I was wondering about this since the beginning of our duel. You played fairly and honourably." Joey spoke up while he smirked at his opponent. "But the Marik I came to know plays dirty, reckless and honourees in order to get what he wants. The more I think about this the more I'm certain that you aren't who you claim to be!"

Everyone gasped at his words and Jesara heard a low growl from the sandy blonde teen beside her. His true identity was about to be exposed. His lavender eyes narrowed dangerously. Yugi and her friends looked at Joey in puzzlement, but they had to admit that his words made sense. The bulky egyptian did play fairly and he didn't use the power of the millennium rod for his advantage like he did before.

"Joey is right! Marik always played unfair and dirty, but not in this duel. It's obvious that this man may be not the real Marik." Yugi stated and looked at his blonde friend on the platform.

"But when this guy isn't the real Marik, who is it?" Tea asked in confusion and stared at her friend Yugi. Jesara's eyes were glued to the floor, fear shot through her whole body. Might this be the moment of losing it all? Her friends, her new life, their trust? Marik's grip on the millennium rod behind his back tightened, his whole body was tense. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Thing's weren't going exactly to plan anymore.

Odion grabbed his fake millennium rod from underneath his cloak and pointed it towards Joey. "I AM the real Marik! And you are just one turn away from losing this duel!"

"So what are you waiting for? Whoever you are…" Joey spat and stared at him awaiting his opponent to make his turn. After Odion drew a new card he commanded his Mystical Beast Serket to attack Joes directly. The blonde teen closed his eyes, knowing that Battle City was over for him.

"Nooo! Joey!" Serenity shouted when the enormous beast prepared to attack her brother. She covered her eyes with her hands in fear. But suddenly it stopped its attack and came to a halt just inches away from Joey.

"W-what happened?" Tea asked in confusion. Why did he stop his attack?

"I decided to destroy you otherwise, little Joey!" Odion explained, still holding the fake millennium rod in his hand. "I will prove it to you that I AM the real Marik and I will use my egyptian god card to defeat you once and for all!"

Joey's eyes widened in shock at Odion's words and so did his friends. Jesara stared at the bulky egyptian with fearful eyes. _'Please, don't do that… Don't summon the Winged Dragon of Ra, Odion…' _Marik must have told him mentally to use Ra to clear up the doubts of Odion's true identity. He risked the life of his most faithful servant to protect his cover and plan. _'Marik has no idea how dangerous this is… I've seen it with my own eyes. I've been there when he started to produce copies of the Winged Dragon… But every of his slaves died from playing it. I can't imagine that Marik got rid of this unhappy side effect of using a fake god card.'_ She thought when her fingers covered her mouth to hold back a whimper.

"I sacrifice my Mystical Beast Serket and half of my life points to unleash Ra from the chest in my Temple of the Kings! Emerge from the chest and help me to win this duel, almighty Winged Dragon of Ra!" Odion commanded and his great beast Serket vanished from the field. The whole deck started to vibrate underneath their feet and the chest behind him started to glow in all imaginable colours. A bright light enhanced it and also the sky changed dramatically. Thunderclouds started to cover the sky within seconds; it looked like an end time scenario. Fear shot though Jesara's whole body.

A golden silhouette appeared in the thunderclouds above the temple, it covered nearly the whole sky. It was the burning silhouette of a golden dragon - The Winged Dragon of Ra has awoken from his slumber. Everyone stared at the golden dragon in the sky with shocked eyes. Marik smirked, his plan worked out and Odion has successfully summoned a fake version of an egyptian god. His cover was save now. Almost.

"And now my ancient beast, attack my opponent and allow me to win this duel!" Odion commanded the dragon, but it didn't react. It did nothing. The glistering silhouette in the sky didn't move an inch - something was wrong. Terribly wrong. "Obey me! Attack him and wipe away the rest of his life points!" Odion repeated and turned around to face his unwilling monster.

"What's wrong, Marik? Isn't your huge grilled chicken in the mood to play today?" Joey teased and giggled at the bulky egyptian, who repeated his commands over and over. But to no avail. The Winged Dragon didn't react, instead thunderbolts illuminated the sky and the thunder roared loudly above them.

Suddenly one of them hit Odion, the millennium rod in his hands shattered into million of pieces and he collapsed to the ground. He didn't move, the thunderbolt had knocked him out completely.

"Oh my god! This millennium item was a fake!" Tea shouted when the shards of Odion's fake rod fell to the ground beside him. "And where did this thunderbolt came from!? Is he okay!?"

"Oh no!" Jesara whimpered when she saw her beloved friend laying on the ground, unconscious and not moving at all. "Kaiba, you have to stop this duel now!"

"I won't suspend this duel, it's still going on." Kaiba said cooly and shot Jesara an angry glare.

"Hey, you jerk? Are you okay?" Joey asked anxious when he made a few steps towards the unconscious egyptian on the ground. Suddenly a second thunderbolt struck down from the sky and hit Joey who immediately fell down to the ground.

"Joey!" Serenity whined in shock. Duke and Tristan immediately tried to climb onto the platform to help their friend, who laid on the ground - hurt and unconscious. But Roland stopped them to do so and held them back. "You can't come up there! Here's still a duel going on!"

"What's wrong with you!? Didn't it get to you that both duelists are unconscious!? We need to help them and bring them to the hospital!" Tristan spat at Roland and glared at him dangerously.

"They both have 200 life points left! We'll wait for 5 minutes, the first that gets up to the feet will be declared as the winner! Otherwise both will be disqualified from the tournament." The young CEO stated and looked at them with his typical dismissive glare.

"Kaiba, are you crazy? They're hurt!" Yugi yelled, but his words were only answered by an arrogant smirk.

A low, grief-stricken growl met Jesara's ears from beside her. When she turned her head to see what it was and where it came from she saw Marik, clinging his head with his hands and bend down like he went through terrible pain. In one hand that was pressed against his temples he held the millennium rod - the real millennium rod. Yugi and her friends were still too focused and concerned about Joey and Odion that they didn't recognise him.

"Marik… W-What's wrong with you…?" Jesara stuttered under her breath when she drew closer to him and laid her hand on his shoulder. His skin was nearly burning, something was terrible wrong with him. She never knew that Marik suffered from a dreadful sort of migraine. He said nothing, he just moaned from the pain in his head. "Marik…?"

Suddenly Joey regained consciousness and stood up from the ground. He did it, he won the duel. Yugi and Tristan climbed the platform to hug him, the others cheered in excitement and relief; their friend was okay and unharmed. Roland declared him as the winner of the duel.

But what about the bulky man? He still laid on the ground, not moving at all. Yugi, Joey and Tristan ran over to him and tried to wake him up. A painful moan left his throat when he opened his olive eyes; he was weak and injured.

"Hey man. Are you alright?" Joey asked softly and held Odion's upper body in his lap to make him more comfortable. "What was this all about? Who are you?"

"M-my real name i-is Odion. I-I'm just a slave… You're all in great danger…" Odion muttered under his breath, too weak to sit himself up.

"What does that mean, Odion?" Yugi asked and kneeled beside the bulky egyptian.

"Pharaoh, please be careful. The world is in great danger… You need to be cautious about…" Odion rose his weak hand to point towards a sandy blonde teen beside the platform. "…the r-real Master M-Marik…"

Their eyes followed the direction of his hand and stopped when they saw Namu, or to be exactly, the real Master Marik bowing and moaning in pain. Jesara stood close to him, her hands on his shoulder, looking at him in concernment.

"Marik, please. Talk to me. What's wrong?" Jesara stammered as she drew more closer to him. Her eyes were filled with fear. But he didn't react to her, his headache was too bad.

"THIS IS MARIK!?" The gang shouted out in disbelief.

"What the hell, Jess!? What are you doing there!? Don't tell me that you know who he is!?" Joey yelled and narrowed his eyes in disappointment. She called him by his name, his true name and she stood close to him, too close to him; caring for him. They found her behaviour around him suspicious from the first time they met the sandy blonde teen in Domino, something about them was wrong and now they got proven right.

Jesara stared at her friends with fearful eyes. Now they know what she never wanted to tell them. Her past was catching up on her. Before Jesara could say any word Marik spoke up and smirked at her friends evilly. Beads of sweat from the heavy pain were still visible on his forehead.

"Yes, that's right, you fools! I AM the real Marik!" Marik laughed and his eyes locked with Yugi's. "And I'll wrench your power from you! Finally I'll claim what meant to be m-meahhh!" The headache got worse, his palm met his forehead and again a painful moan left his throat.

"Marik! Please, tell me what's wrong with you!" Jesara wrapped her arms around him and laid his head onto her shoulder to provide him she comfort. Right now every anger she felt about him from their last encounter vanished away and was replaced by worry… worry about him.

"Jesara…" Marik panted heavily from the pain. He tried his best to fight the unbearable pain to say something. "Run. Run away as f-far as you can. I don't want to hurt you." His voice was low. Marik was fighting against something deep inside of him.

"W-What do you mean!? Marik, please…! You scare me!" Jesara whimpered; a tear ran down her cheeks. Why did he say that? She stroked his head and through his sandy blonde hair to comfort him. All of the sudden he shoved her away from him; he shoved her so hard that she lost her balance and crumbled to the ground before him. Her amber-olive eyes stared at him in shock when a loud, painful cry filled the air. And then…

Silence.

"I guess that's for the category: Really really freaking bad." Joey muttered, still holding Odion in his lap.

Jesara covered her mouth with her hand, whimpering, when she saw Marik's hair standing up in all directions. His lavender eyes went blank and were half opened. The symbol of the Anubis eye glowed on his forehead brightly. He chuckled evilly, his voice was lower and darker like it wasn't his own… like he wasn't himself.

"Hahahaha… As if running away could save you, little Jesara." Marik laughed and looked down to the young woman who still laid on the ground before his feet. Jesara wasn't able to say something in return, fear tightened her throat and shock froze her body. Her amber-olive eyes stared at him.

"Marik! What is this all about!?" Yugi yelled last him, awaiting an explanation from Marik.

"Pharaoh, long time no see." Marik cackled wicked. "I'm Marik, this time the real one. And I'm not that friendly like the one you already came to know."

"Jesus Christ, man! What's wrong with your hair!?" Joey exclaimed and looked at the sandy blonde with a vexed glare.

"What do you want, Marik!?" Yugi hissed.

"What I want? Hahaha, didn't you get it yet? I'll take your power from you and reign the world as Pharaoh. For thousands of years my family stood guard by your tomb, waiting for your return. Me and the Ishtar clan suffered for millenniums and I will take revenge for what you did to them!" Marik laughed heavily, his evil smirk scared the crap out of Jesara.

"You'll see soon enough, Pharaoh. I will defeat you and claim what's mine. Hahahaha." Marik laughed and went towards the elevator. He grinned at the gang once again before the doors slid shut in front of him.

For a second no one dared to say a word. Everyone's eyed were glued to Jesara like she was an alien that just came from mars. Serenity helped her to the feet, she sobbed heavily and she wiped away a few tears from her cheeks.

"Yugi… I-I.. It's…" She stuttered, not knowing how to explain this. But Joey cut her off.

"Jess! You knew him all the time!? You knew who he was!? And you didn't tell us just a single word!?" His tone was furious and he shouted on the top of his lungs. He glared dagger at her.

"I-I did… p-please Y-Yugi, Joey… let me explain…" She whimpered. Jesara's eyes were glued to the ground and her light grey bangs covered her tear-stained eyes.

"And I thought you were our friend! WHO ARE YOU, Jess!? Are you one of his lackeys!? Was your friendship even real or was it all a great lie!?" Joey's loud yell startled her. This situation was one of the worst of her life. She didn't know if the pain she felt when Marik punished her two years ago hurt more than to loose her friends because she didn't tell them. Jesara trembled heavily. She needed to say at least something. But what… Maybe it was time to start with the truth… the truth she never told them, the truth she wanted to forget.

Jesara inhaled deeply before speaking the next words out loud.

"I-I'm his wife."

/

**AN: Boom. Yep, that was the bomb. Expected it? :P **

**Please leave a review and let me know about your thoughts!**

**Happy weekend!**


	11. Chapter 11: Inferno

**AN: Update is here! :D I saw you liked Chapter 10 and so much thanks for your reviews!**

**A little side note for this and all duels that will come after this: I decided to follow the original rules of the game, this means I will consider the different phases you have to go through in your turns. Draw Phase, Main Phase, Battle Phase. For an example it's not allowed to switch your monsters to defense mode after or during your Battle Phase. It makes things way easier and ore transparent. :-)**

**You may have wondered about who will duel against Yami Marik since I kicked Mai out of this story. But it's obvious, isn't it? It's a completely different duel and there will be other cards in it. I tried to keep it a bit similar to the original; I also had a few ideal for fancy turns, but I decided to keep it as simple as possible. Things would have got too complicated - you know? But I think I did a good job in writing this duel.**

**Happy reading! Enjoy!**

**Chapter XI**

**Inferno**

„My real name is Jesara Ishtar… Jendayi is my maiden surname…" she whimpered with a faint voice and dug her fingernails into her palm, her body flooded with panic and embarrassment, „I'm so sorry… B-but I had my reasons not to tell you…"

„YOU'RE WHAT!? HIS _WIFE_!?" her friends shouted out loud in unison. Jesara's unexpected confession left them with their mouths agape. From all possible things that could have happened they at least expected this kind of a coming-out. It was the secret she never wanted them to know, but now it just dropped like a bomb.

„You've been lying to us all the time…? B-but I thought you were a friend…" Tea stammered, tears gathered in the corner of her blue eyes when she looked at Jesara in puzzlement. The two girls had a close relationship since they were the only females in their clique. And Tea was the only person Jesara could talk to about girl and emotional stuff. „Then it was all a lie?"

Jesara cringed her fists so hard her long nails dug deeper into the flesh of her palms. Shame overwhelmed the light grey haired egyptian girl. Her amber-olive eyes were still glued to the floor, she wasn't able to look them in the eye just for a second. Too strong was the feeling of embarrassment that tightened her throat. She shook her head to negate Tea's question. „I-it wasn't a lie… I have nothing to do with his plans… please believe me…"

„How could we ever trust you again, Jess!? You let in a trojan horse!" Joey blamed her again for all the shit that happened lately because of Marik. For him it was hard to believe that Jesara had nothing to do with it. All the time she said nothing, she played along and left them unknowing about the danger right in front of their noses.

„How could you do that, Jess? You knew about everything… I can't believe we didn't see it earlier." Yugi, now again possessed by the Pharaoh's spirit, grumbled with narrowed eyes at the egytian girl with the light grey hair.

„P-please… let me explain." Jesara muttered under her breath. „There's a lot you don't know about me…"

„I guess it's far too late for apologies, Jess!" Joey yelled at her. Disappointment was plastered in his face. He couldn't believe that he had a crush on her all the time; on the one who lied to them since they came to know her. At this she said nothing more, there was nothing she could say to make them forgive her. She betrayed them. Why should they even listen to her explanations? For the second time in her life she lost everything she ever had.

Then she made a bolt for the elevator when it slid open and the medical aid team arrived on the deck to get Odion to the doctor's room. Her vision was blurry, her eyes burned again from the tears and she nearly stumbled over the gurney when she bursted into the elevator cabin. Jesara pushed the button downwards a million times to make the doors slid shut faster - but everybody knows that this never worked as wished.

**/ Jesara's room**

She stormed into her room and slumped onto her bed, burying her tear stained face into her pillows and sobbing heavily. This was a nightmare, a disaster. Jesara knew they won't be pleased about her bond to the one who tried to kill them, but she didn't expect that it would be so painful. Her whole life shattered to pieces once again. If betraying her friends and losing their trust forever wasn't horrible enough, something evil awoke inside of Marik… Something that scared her for life. And she didn't knew what it was. Within seconds his whole body language and behaviour changed completely, his voice, his expression. It was like his soul vanished away when a demon took control over him. Jesara had no idea what this entity was, where it came from and who he was.

Marik fought against it with all his strength, but he wasn't able to hold it back. She remembered the words he said to her before the evil entity awoke. ‚_Run. Run away as far as possible. I don't want to hurt you.'_ She repeated his warning over and over again in her mind. Did he know what was coming? And had it something to do with Odion's knock-out?

So many questions crossed her mind. She felt lost, alone and blamed herself for everything that happened. Maybe things would be different if she told Yugi and her other friends about it earlier. But Joey was right, it was too late for apologies. She had to deal with the consequences of her mistakes now.

„Dear duelists! The half of the Battle City semi-finals are over and we're choosing the next pairing for round three in 5 minutes. Please proceed to the hall. Thank you!" Roland's professional voice came from the intercom. There was no way she would go out there; not in a hundred years. The embarrassment was too much, so she decided to skip on the lottery for now and hoped not to be chosen next. She needed to be alone right now.

Jesara cried into her pillows for another five minutes, ignoring the fact that she should be at the hall right now. But she had bigger problems to worry about than this.

„For round number three the duelists Namu- ähm, no - Marik Ishtar and Jesara Jendayi were chosen by the lottery. Please proceed to the stratos deck. The duel starts in 10 minutes!" Roland announced from the intercom. Jesara cringed when his words met her ears. What!? No. No no no no no. She looked over to the intercom computer in her room with her mouth agape. Her light grey bangs hung into her tear-stained face when she lifted herself up from the bed. From all possible pairings for the next round this was the absolute worst. _‚Karma is a bitch…'_ she sighed mentally and rushed into her bathroom to wash the tears away.

„Ishizu… where are you when I need you more than ever…" she murmured when she stared at her reflection in the mirror. „Please tell me what to do…"

It was time to get going, although it was the last thing she wanted to do. He or it, or whatever it was that controlled Marik, scared the crap out of her. And at least she didn't want to be around her former friends right now…

Jesara made sure to have her deck with her before she left her room. She was a bit late, but her footsteps felt like her feet were made from cement. Every step that brought her closer to the stratos deck, closer to him and her friends, felt like she was walking on shattered glass.

The elevators doors slid open in front of her and she was only met by silence and her friend's eyes glaring at her in disappointment. Jesara didn't expect to see them on the deck to watch her duel. It would've made sense if they would have spent the time otherwise.

„You're late!" Kaiba spat from the side and glared at her with his typical pissed off expression. „How dare you to let us wait!"

„Calm down, Kaiba… And buy yourself some manners, money won't be the problem." Jesara answered him and walked over to the staircase that led to the duelling platform. When she looked up her eyes locked with blank lavender ones that now had the shade of death and threat; he was already waiting for her. His devilish smirk gave her goosebumps; there was nothing like kindness left in his eyes. The Marik she knew had vanished away completely.

„My precious Jesara, what a wonderful coincidence." Marik's deep voice chuckled at her when she stepped onto the platform. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at him. He must have changed his outfit in the meantime to a beige coloured pant and a black-slim fitting muscle shirt. Around his neck and shoulders he wore the signature dark purple cloak of the Rare Hunters. „I have to admit that my pitiful father made a good choice to make you my wife." Again she balled her fists beside her hips and growled slightly.

„I'm not your wife, whoever YOU are…" Jesara murmured and positioned herself on her side of the platform. She felt how her body started to tremble from his threatening gaze that was fixed on her.

„I am the real Marik, my dear. Or to be exactly I'm the stronger version of his mind. He created me from his endless hate and pain." The dark Marik explained with a big smirk on his face.

„Where is he? What have you done to him!?" Jesara spat from across the field and glared daggers at the sandy blonde whose hair pointed up into all possible directions.

„You mean my weaker half? Mhhh… I guess he's having a little chitchat with my father in the shadow realm." He chuckled evilly and shrugged his shoulders. She gasped at his answer. _‚The shadow realm?'_ Jesara had heard about this place before, it was mentioned in the old scriptures she had studied back in her life in egypt. It was the place were souls were banned to as a punishment or if they lost a shadow game in ancient times. The Marik she knew also has sent a few of his slaves and Rare Hunters to this place when they disappointed him by using his millennium rod. Of course she had witnessed this kind of punishment for too often.

„Set him free! Release him!" Jesara commanded and pointed her finger towards the demon that possessed Marik's body.

He chuckled heavily again. „You really think it's that easy, my dear? I was held back by this fool Odion for so many years and now I'm finally free again. Do you really believe that I'm giving up control over my body again… just because you say so? You're very feisty, my dear. I like that."

„Shut up, you freak! It's not YOUR body and you're not welcomed here. And don't call me that!" She hissed back. Her knuckles turned white when she clinged her fists even tighter.

„Hahahaha. But what about a little deal, my lovely Jesara? If you win this duel I'll give you back your precious Marik." His low voice was filled with nothing but pure malice. The aura that surrounded him made her flesh crawl in fear.

„And if I lose it…?" She asked curiously.

„If I win this duel you'll have to accept your destiny as my wife and slave. But it could be worse, my dear. I could easily send you to the shadows too when you lose it, but it would be awful waste of potential." He shot her an amused glance and laughed heavily at her reaction to his offer.

„What!? I'd rather die than living a life in your slavery." Jesara spat back, clenching her teeth together in fury.

„Let's talk about this when you lost the duel, my dear." Marik chuckled and activated his duel disk that transformed into duelling mode within seconds.

„I won't. Take my word for it!" She muttered and activated her duel disk too, then she shuffled her deck and put it into it. „Lady's first." Jesara opened the duel and drew her first cards. She looked at them in concentration, considering what was best to start with. She had no idea what kind of strategy this entity had to offer, but she would soon find out. Before she could place a card onto her duel disk Marik interrupted her again.

„Before I forget, let's make this duel a bit more interesting." He said cooly with his threatening deep voice and grabbed for the millennium rod that he had attached to his belt behind his back. He held it up high and a bright light enhanced the Anubis eye on top of it. Within seconds the whole duelling platform was covered and surrounded by thick dark clouds, vanishing away every natural light from the night sky and the moon.

Jesara looked at her new surroundings in puzzlement. Was this dark fog that covered everything around her what she thought it was? „What have you done!? Where are we?"

„I thought it would be more fun to make this duel a shadow game. I guess our clan told you about what happens to the loser of a shadow game, mh?" Marik smirked evilly at her again.

„A shadow game!?" Joey bursted out from the side.

„Exactly. We're now in the shadow realm, things work different here. As I said before… When you lose, my dear Jesara, you can choose between accepting your fate as my wife and slave for eternity…" Marik paused to chuckle heavily. „…or you can loose yourself in the eternity in the darkness of the shadow realm."

Jesara stared at him with a shocked expression; he really brought them to the shadow realm. The loser had to pay a high price. A growl left her throat. „And as I said before I'd rather die than being doomed to your side."

„Then, make your first turn." He chuckled.

"I summon my Ancient Gear Knight (1800/500) in attack mode and place one card face down on the field. Your turn." She explained and put on her best poker face. A metal warrior appeared in front of her holding a massive shield. _'Whatever he comes up with, my trap card Draining Shield will keep me save until I figure it out.'_

This didn't seem to impress Marik at all, his devilish smirk was still present in his face. "Nice turn, my dear. I'll start off with my Revival Jam in defense mode. (1500/500) Additional I play my Jam Breeding Machine; it will produce one Slime Token by every turn I make. That's all for now."

"That's all? I guess this will be easier than I expected." Jesara teased and drew another card from her deck. "Next I summon my beautiful Dark Valkyria (1800/1050) in attack position."

"Jesara!" Yugi, currently possessed by the ghost of the Pharaoh, shouted from beside the field. "Take care of his Revival Jam! He used it against me before!"

Jesara stared down to him in surprise. He helped her? Why should he after all what happened lately? "Yugi… Why do you help me?" She asked curiously.

But before the Pharaoh could answer her question he got interrupted by Marik's laughs. "Hahaha. You can't help her, Pharaoh. I promise you that my duelling skills are completely different and way stronger than the tactics of my weaker half. Whatever you've seen before was child play, this is much worse. Hahaha"

"If that's the case, why don't you show a bit more?" Jesara teased him with narrowed eyes. "I know that Revival Jam can't be destroyed. That's why I decided to end my turn."

"Wise decision, my dear. I activate my spell card Pot of Greed, this allows me to draw two new cards from my deck. Next the effect of my Jam Breeding Machine activates and it produces my first Slime Token. (500/500)" Marik explained when the huge machine on his side of the field ejected a smily little ball with a ghosty face on it. "Additionally I also play a card face down. It's up to you again, my dear."

_'__This is way too easy. Why is he playing so defensively? I guess he wants to summon Ra and sacrifice his slime tokens for it. I need to get rid of them.'_ She thought and drew a card from her deck. _‚I bet an eye that his face down card is a trap to negate an attack… But I never find out if I don't try.'_

„Okay, you jerk. I activate the effect of my Dark Valkyria. It allows me to decide to raise her power by 300 attack points or to destroy one of your monsters instead. And I decide to get your Revival Jam out of the way." Jesara explained and her dark fairy-like monster began to glow in a violet light. Just a second light Marik's Revival Jam shattered into millions of pieces.

„Nice turn, my dear. My weaker half and Odion were good teachers." He chuckled and waited for her to continue and finish her turn.

„You'll soon be laughing on the other side of your face. I expected more than this." Jesara taunted him. „Ancient Gear Warrior, attack his Slime Token!"

After she finished her command the ancient monster started his attack and rushed towards Marik and his spooky slime figure when suddenly his face down card flipped open. „Not so fast, my dear. I activate my trap card Wall of Disruption."

„No! Not this trap card!" Jesara gasped when her eyes shot wide open and let out a deep growl.

„Yes yes…" Marik teased and grinned at the light grey haired girl in front of him. „This trap card reduces the attack points of your monsters by 800 points for each of them. So I guess both loose 1600 points! Hahahaha"

„B-But that means that my monsters have just 200 attack points left…" Jesara stuttered. Her Ancient Gear Warrior was now weaker than Marik's Slime Token and got destroyed from his attack on it. Jesara's life points dropped to 3700, but the damage could have been worse.

„That's correct, my dear. And because you've already entered your Battle Phase you can't switch your Dark Valkyria, which is just a picture of misery by now, into defense mode anymore. You're an easy prey now, sweetheart." Marik explained with narrowed eyes and sadistic smirk on his face.

„Your turn…" Jesara growled slightly, she knew she was in serious trouble now. His next turn could cost her a big amount if her life points, but at least she got rid of his Revival Jam thanks to the effect of her Dark Valkyria.

„I summon Makyura the Destructor (1600/1200) in attack mode, additionally I equip it to Makyura and raise its power by 500. (2100/1200) And then I set one card face down again." He explained as a tall monster with a dark amour appeared in front of him, wearing a dark amulet that gave him even more power - enough power to beat Jesara's now extremely weakened Valkyria and take a lot of her life points from her. „And now, attack the Dark Valkyria, or better what's left of her!"

When the beast bolted towards Jesara's monster she smirked at him. „Thanks! You activated my trap card Draining Shield! It negates your attack and the equal of your monsters attack points will be added to my life points!" She flipped her trap card open by a little click on her duel disk.

„Ts ts ts…" Marik taunted again. „I guess this won't work, sweetheart. I activate my spell card Remove Trap."

„No!" Jesara shouted when her Draining Shield shattered to pieces in front of her and Makyura sliced her Valkyria into two. Immediatly her life points dropped to 1900. „You'll regret this."

„I can't wait to see you take revenge, my dear Jesara. But first I'll attack you directly with my now two Slime Tokens!" He threatened. Jesara gasped when she realised that there already were two of his slimy figures, 500 attack points each. She must have missed that his Jam Machine ejected a new one. They rushed towards her with high speed and thrusted directly into her stomach, making her bow in pain when they hit her. Again her life points dropped to 900.

„Argh…" She moaned and struggled to catch her breath. „W-what freaky kind of hologram is that?"

„Did you forget that this is a shadow game and things are pretty real here?" Marik teased from across the field; his arms crossed in front of his chest. He stood tall and his muscular arms looked a lot stronger than she remembered from… the real one.

„Guys… although I'm really upset with her after all the shit that happened earlier… things aren't looking that good for her. Why is this freak messing his _wife_ up like that? By now I understand nothing anymore…" Joey whispered loud enough for his friends around him to hear.

„I can't tell you that, my friend. But she needs a big amount of luck right now if she wants to win this. I feel the same about her as you, but it would be fatal if Marik wins this. It would get him closer to finish his plans." The Pharaoh replied quietly to not interrupt Jesara's concentration up on the platform.

Jesara's breath was still heavy. Marik's Slime Tokens had hit her at full tilt; her abdomen still hurt like hell from their attack. She stood there slightly bowed; her hands covered her stomach area by instinct.

„I wonder how she was able to qualify for the finals with her amateurish skills in duelling. I guess that everything I heard about Jesara was fake." Kaiba stated cooly from the side of the platform, loud enough for everyone to hear. He stood there like he was some sort of king or ruler of the whole world. Sometimes she wished she could kick his ass so hard that it would launch him into outer space.

„Shut up, Mr. Rich Bitch Without Manners and mind your own business. Get yourself a girlfriend, maybe you'll be more endurable then. But I guess that there's not a single female out there that would take you voluntarily!" Jesara hissed down and glared daggers at him, still bowing in pain. At this he said nothing more, but sat on his signature arrogant smirk.

„DISSED!" Joey shouted out laughing heavily.

„Don't you want to make your turn, my precious Jesara?" Marik taunted. Everything about him was threatening.

Jesara said nothing, but shot him a bugged glare when she drew a card from her deck. Right now she needed a miracle to win this duel; she had not a single card left on the field for her protection. _‚Card Destruction… that might help me out of this misery. And I also have my Guardian Angel Joan in my hand… but I need to summon her somehow… with a big amount of luck.'_

„Alright… Let's see how you like that, you freak. First of all I activate Card Destruction! That means we have to send all our cards on hand to the graveyard and draw new ones." She explained and put all her cards on hand into the graveyard section of her duel disk and drew new ones.

„Sweet. The last breaths of the prey… Hahaha" Marik laughed as he also sent all his cards to the graveyard. When he looked at his new cards on hand he began to smirk heavily. Little did she know that playing Card Destruction was a huge mistake.

_‚__Thank Ra… I just drew the one card I needed right now.'_ Jesara thought when she looked at her new cards. „I play Monster Reborn! And because I've sent her to the graveyard with Card Destruction I can now summon my Guardian Angel Joan (2800/2000)! Additional I play two cards face down." She declared as a tall, angel like figure appeared from a bright light in the fogged sky above them. White feathers fell down to the field, they sparkled like diamonds in the dark atmosphere of the shadows. „She will get me back some of my life points thanks to her special effect. Joan, attack his Makyura and send him to the graveyard!"

With a bright and intense light beam Joan did how Jesara commanded; Marik's monster bursted into millions of tiny pieces. Marik's life points dropped to 3300, while Jesara's life points rose to 3000 again because of the special effect of Joan. „I end my turn…"

„Welcome back in the game, my dear." Marik chuckled and drew his next card. As he looked at it he bursted into a heavy laugher. „Hahahaha. The duel is almost over, my dear!"

Jesara narrowed her eyes with curiosity and disgust. _‚What did he draw?'_

„What a pity that this little game of ours didn't last that long. But all good things come to an end, aren't they?" He placed the card he had just drawn into the spell/trap card area of his duel disk and a hologram of it immediately popped open in front of him. When Jesara's amber-olive eyes looked at the card every color vanished from her face. _‚Not Brain Control…'_

„For the price of just 800 life points I can take control over your Guardian Angel Joan until the end of my turn, my dear." Marik explained with his dangerous low voice and suddenly Jesara's Angel Joan switched to his side of the field. Her eyes widened in shock; she was defenseless - again.

„And because you played Card Destruction earlier you made a huge huge mistake, sweetheart. You made it possible for me to draw Ra earlier." He grinned at her.

Her heart skipped a beat at his words. _‚Ra? Oh my… He has enough monsters on his side of the field to summon it…'_

„I guess you know what's next! I sacrifice two of my Slime Tokens and your Guardian Angel Joan to summon my egyptian god card The Winged Dragon of Ra!" Marik shouted out loud when his slimy figures and her Guardian Angel blazed up in fire. The whole platform was surrounded by flames and a blinding, golden light appeared above him. Jesara could feel the heat on her face and body from the inferno that surrounded her now. Yugi and the others stood beside the platform with their mouths agape and widened, shocked eyes.

A large birdlike dragon formed from the blinding light; it was bigger than anything else she'd seen before. Its body seemed to be made from pure gold and its roars were deafening.

„Stop this Marik! That's insane!" Yugi, or to be exactly the Pharaoh, shouted out loud to make Marik stop - but to no avail.

„Hahaha, Pharaoh…. Why should I? Didn't she betray you and lie to you and your friends all the time? I guess I'm doing you a favor." Marik chuckled and glared at the Pharaoh with his blank, narrowed eyes. In the meantime Jesara's eyes were glued to the golden phoenix in front of her. She never felt such a fear.

„It doesn't matter! You can't hurt anybody just for fun!" The Pharaoh yelled at him.

„Than look closely. I can." Marik smirked as his gaze wandered back to the frightened Jesara.

The Winged Dragon of Ra gained his attack points from the monsters sacrificed to summon it. That meant his attack points were 3800 now, enough to wipe away all of Jesara's remaining life points.

„And now, my beautiful god! Attack her directly and win this shadow game for me!" Marik commanded the golden phoenix and pointed his finger in her direction. Again a deafening roar filled the air around them; it was so loud that she felt how everything around her vibrated. The dragon rose up into the sky and a huge fireball formed in its mouth.

Jesara was unable to move or breath. The dragon finally darted his fire ball attack down towards her and it hit her at full tilt, carrying her off her feet completely. Flames surrounded her, making her feel the unbearable heat on every inch of her skin. Ra's attack had such a power that it knocked Jesara flying, overturning several times before she hit the railing of the duelling platform with her back.

„Oh my god!" Tea shouted out in shock and covered her mouth with her hand. Everybody down the platform, of course except of Mr Rich & Famous, stared at her in fright.

Her life points finally reached zero. It was quite a miracle that she didn't lost consciousness from the impact of Ra's attack. Trembling from pain she managed to get back on her knees, bracing herself from the floor with shaking, bruised hands. Slight moans racked with pain left her throat as she lost balance again and sat herself down to the floor. A sharp pain from her abdomen shot through her body as she tried to lift herself up again. The impact of Ra's attack has left a cut above her left eyebrow and bottom lip; blood streamed down from the two injuries in her face. Every bone and inch of her body hurt, especially the right side of her thorax. Maybe she cracked one or two of her ribs when she hit the railing. Jesara gasped for air; not sure if it was a panic attack or because every inch of her body felt bruised.

From the corner of her eye she saw that somebody came to a halt beside her, from the color of the pants she knew who it was - Marik, or the entity that controlled his body.

„Tell me again how I can take your word for it that you can beat me, my dear Jesara." He chuckled with his evil, low voice that sounded like it came straight from hell. „I hope that didn't hurt too much." Jesara looked up at him at his sarcastic words. Her expression was a mixture of hate, disgust and especially one thing: fear.

He kneeled down and leaned in to her, staring at her intensely with his bright evil smirk. „You should've run away as far as you could like my weaker half told you before I took over control. Now it's to late." But she was to weak and pain-stricken to answer him.

„Well well, my sweetheart. Do you still decide for the shadow realm than accepting your fate given purpose as my sweet wife? It would be a pity to lose something so beautiful." He asked while his blank eyes locked with her exhausted amber-olive ones as he lifted her chin up a bit with his index finger and thumb.

„I have nothing more to lose… The shadows sound like a spa treatment than a life as your slave." She muttered and coughed. Although fear filled every inch of her bruised body she tried to keep her poker face on.

„What a waste…" He sighed with an evil smile as he grabbed the rod from behind is back and held it in front of her. Again the typical golden light enhanced from the Anubis eye on top of it. Jesara pressed her eyes together, awaiting her world to go black, silent and cold.

But.

Nothing happened.

She was still there, her soul attached to her aching body.

„What's wrong!? My rod resists my commands!" Marik growled loud and tightened his grip on the millennium rod. „Obey me!"

Meanwhile the Pharaoh, Joey and Tea had climbed onto the platform after Roland declared Marik as the winner and rushed to her side to prop her up. Jesara opened her eyes slowly, a feeling of gratitude overwhelmed her when she felt the comforting touches of her friends on her back and arms to give her some balance.

„What's wrong, you maniac!? Low battery in your toy or are you just too dumb to use it?" Joey taunted angrily and glared daggers at him. „Jess, are you okay?"

„Get away from her!" Tea spat at the dark Marik when she kneeled down to her friend.

„That's enough, Marik. Stop it now!" The Pharaoh commanded and forced himself between Jesara and Marik.

Marik stood up and growled dangerously, still focusing his blank eyes to the rod. „I can't send her to the shadows…" They could tell from his face that he was raging, still confused why the rod didn't want to work.

„He's still there… somewhere deep down…" Jesara whispered with a slight smile before her vision turned completely black when she lost consciousness.

**/ Medical Room**

„Jess?" a familiar male voice cut through the darkness and it sounded so far away… dull.

„Miss Jendayi's got a mild concussion, several contused ribs and bruises. She will recover completely, but it will take a while until she wakes up." another, but unknown voice said. Still everything around her was black. The voices echoed through the darkness.

„Are you sure? I hope you're right, Doc." Jesara wasn't sure, but this female voice sounded like her friend Tea.

„Yes, we ran a few tests on her during the last hour. She'll be fine, but things could have been much worse. She definitely got a guardian angel." The unknown voice said again.

„Okay…" the familiar male voice sighed. Did this one belong to… Joey?

Did they care for her although she lied to and betrayed them? They worried about her.

„I know I shouldn't ask…" The voice that obviously belonged to Kaiba's doctor on the aircraft said curiously. „But when we ran the tests on her we saw that her whole back is completely covered with deep scars. They look like they were caused by a knife or whip or something like that. I guess it happened about 2 or 2 and half years ago… Do you know something about that? Since she's not full-aged I have to report this to the youth welfare if she got abused by her parents or her relatives."

When the voice fell silent in the endlessness of the darkness she could make out several voices gasping and some „What!?"s and „Oh my god!"s talking across each other. Although her head and body hindered her on getting her thoughts straight again, she tried to understand the words that were spoken and catch the meaning of them.

Scars? Back? Abused…?

„I'm sorry, Doc… But we hear about this the very first time… we had no idea…" Tea's voice said in a sad tone.

„There's a lot you didn't know about her and her past. But she didn't want to _lie_ to you in first place, she just wanted to forget and leave it all behind. She just didn't tell you." Another, very familiar female voice said softly. She knew this voice; it sounded so wise, so comforting and… Ishizu?

„Ishizu… What happened to her?" Tea's voice asked and echoed through the darkness.

Slowly the darkness lifted and turned into different shades of orange, grey and and red. Jesara tried to move her fingers to feel what was underneath them. It felt cozy and warm, like a blanket?

„I-Ishi…Ishizu." She stuttered as loud as she could, but all she could manage was a slight whisper. When she opened her eyes slowly her vision was still blurred, but she could make out a clean and sterile looking lamp and a stylish pattern above her. Then she saw a silhouette of what could possible be a face with blonde hair.

„Jess? You're back!" The familiar male voice said loud. It took Jesara's eyes a while to focus, but then she was certain. The blonde silhouette was Joey!

„Mhm…" She murmured and tightened the grip of her hands on the blanket. Her head still ached a bit, so did her whole body. Jesara tried to sit up, but was held back softly by gentle hands.

„Don't move, Jesara. It's fine. You need to rest." Ishizu said gently and forced a smile, but concernment was way too present on her face.

„You're here… H-how long did I… sleep?" Jesara muttered and smiled at her black haired sister-in-law. She wore a beautiful white dress and veil made from finest egyptian silk. A golden headpiece held everything in place.

„2 hours. It's a miracle that you're already awake again." Ishizu answered.

By now Jesara had regained full consciousness and vision. They were all there, all of her friends. Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan, Serenity, Duke. They looked at her with a concerned expression.

„Y-you did find out about… my sca- my back?" Jesara asked in a sad tone. Ishizu nodded and her piercing blue eyes grew sadder. Jesara sighed, but tried to accept the situation like it was. She never wanted to tell them about it and everything about the why, when, where, who. All she wanted was to seal those memories somewhere into the darkest corners of her mind. „I guess we have a lot to catch up…"

„But first you need to rest, Jess." Joey said gently from beside the bed she was lying on.

„Miss Jendayi, how do you feel right now? I can dose you with some more morphine if the pain is too hard." The doctor interrupted them and checked on her pupillary light reflex with a tiny flashlight.

„I'm fine… And please, let's be honest from now on. My surname is Ishtar… I'd appreciate it if you call me by my real name…" Jesara said with a still weak voice, but she felt better by every minute. Ishizu smiled at her with an unreadable expression. Was it relief? Happiness? Maybe both.

„We'll arrive at our final location tomorrow morning. I'd like to have you under medical supervision during the night, Miss…Ishtar." The doctor insisted.

"Uhm… Would it be possible to move me to my room anyway? It would be okay if you come and check on me every hour if that's necessary. But I really need to have a talk in private with my friends and this can't wait. And I don't want to disturb Bakura as well…" Jesara asked kindly and looked over to her white haired friend who laid on the bed next to her - still unconscious.

"I don't think that's a good idea." The doctor determined with unease in his voice and gaze. "But if you insist on that…"

"She will be with all of us. If there's a complication we'll inform you right away." Ishizu asserted forcefully and smiled at the doctor who just replied with a sigh and a nod.

"Please give me 10 minutes to prepare everything for moving you into your private room. I'd like to keep you on the heart monitor overnight." He explained and headed into a tiny room which was attached to the medical room and closed the door shut behind him. Maybe he had some paperwork to do first. Who knew.

"W-what happened while I was knocked out? And Ishizu… where do you came from?" Jesara looked into her sister-in-law's piercing blue eyes as she managed to sit herself up a bit, but grimaced from pain when she did so. Joey rushed to her side to prop her up until she had enough balance to sit upright at her own.

Ishizu sighed before giving her an answer. "I'm sorry that I didn't show up before, but it was necessary. I qualified for the finals as duelist number 8 and while you were asleep I duelled against Kaiba. My necklace predicted that I would defeat Kaiba and help you to get a step closer in saving my brother from his demons."

Jesara raised an eyebrow at Ishizu's explanation. "Did you?"

Ishizu shook her head. "No… My necklace was wrong… I don't know what that means." The black haired egyptian woman sat herself down on the edge of Jesara's hospital bed and stroked her hand to give her some comfort. She had several abrasions on her hands and arms, such as a few bruises from the duel disk that was attached to her arm during the impact of Ra's attack. The cuts in her face were patched; thank god she didn't need stitches.

Jesara sighed and looked down to her bedsheets. Ishizu's millenniums necklace was always right, how could it be wrong this time? A sudden change of fate? Or had it something to do with the appearance of this demon that now had control over Marik's body.

"Ishizu…" the pharaoh spoke up and locked eyes with her. "Marik wanted to ban her soul to the shadows with his millennium rod. But something went wrong or didn't work properly… Do you know what happened? Why he wasn't able to send Jess to the shadows?" He asked with concern in his voice that usually was much deeper and more adult than Yugi's. Jesara gave him a puzzled look. She only remembered some pieces after Ra's attack hit her and she did remember that something was wrong with the rod. Marik was just inches away from banning her soul to the shadows. From this moment on she had a complete back-out.

"A piece of my little brothers soul is still present in his body, although he's too weak to regain control over it again. But he was still strong enough to hinder his dark side on hurting you with the rod. My necklace showed me that he promised you to never harm you with the millennium rod, am I right?" Ishizu explained and looked into Jesara's still puzzled face again. Her blue eyes stared straight into her soul, like she already knew everything about what had happened between them before the real Marik lost control. Of course she knew.

Jesara nodded slightly when Ishizu gave her a reassuring smile. "Yes… He did promise that…"

**AN: No cliffhanger this time! :P I loved to write this chapter and I had an amazing flow. It was done in only a few hours, although I didn't plan anything that happened in it. It nearly wrote itself haha. This chapter puts a few pieces together, but next the next chapter will answer a lot of questions about their past and former relationship. :-) Chapter 12 is also already pre-written and I'm actually doing the finger work on it. I guess I will update on Saturday.**

**I really hoped you liked it!**

**Btw: I'd love to have your scene suggestions for some Yami Marik & Jesara encounters! :P I'm still in the love mode, but I could need some inspiration to get myself into the very very evil & dark mode. Hope you know what I mean!**

**Also I want to thank everyone who left a review or favored the story so far! I'm so happy you enjoy it.**

**Please review and let me know how you liked chapter 11.**

**xoxo**


	12. Chapter 12: Breaking Point

**AN: Update is here earlier than I thought! Easter got me a bunch of time and I was able to finish this chapter sooner. Thank you so much for every favouring, following and for every review! So many of you told me that you couldn't wait for this chapter. You really keep me motivated! This one will clear a lot of things up and I tried to put all the breadcrumbs I had put in the previous chapters together in this one.**

**After this update I change the Rating to M, because it contains physical violence (just to warn you) and I hope it didn't end up too brutally. And I hope you don't hate my version of Marik in this story after this hahaha! Girls love assholes, sometimes. :P Forgive me!**

**This chapter contains two narrated flashbacks. I hope I did a good job in writing & formating it the way that is understandable. Please mind:**

\- normal formatting means that I'm describing and writing the scene like I always do includung dialogues and speakings.

_\- Italic formatting are Ishizu's or Jesara's POV narrations during the flashback. It could also be thoughts of the acting characters of the flashback, but you will see the difference ;-)_

**Okay then! Enjoy & Happy Easter!**

**Please make sure to leave a review!**

**Chapter XII**

**Breaking Point**

Jesara was moved to her private room as promised. But before she insisted on visiting Odion to look after him, but to her bitter disappointment he was still unconscious after all. The doctor also made sure to keep her connected to the heart monitor machine to check on her vital signs during the night. He recommended her to rest and stay in bed for the rest of the tournament. Ishizu and the gang came together at Jesara's room, they really had a lot to catch up and talk about. Right now she felt like she was sitting in the confessional box. Two years ago she left egypt, the Rare Hunters and especially Marik to leave it all far behind, to start over new and never talk about it again. But having Ishizu on her side gave her enough comfort to talk about this part of her life.

The light grey haired egyptian girl sat upright in her bed and leant her back against the wall. To make it more comfortable she stuffed a few pillows in between. Her thorax still hurt from the impact, but thanks to the doctor's magic painkillers it already was way more bearable than it was half an hour ago.

„Well…" Jesara inhaled deeply and let out a sigh, not knowing where to start and unable to find the perfect words. „First of all I want to apologise for everything… for not telling you everything, hiding the truth and lying to all of you… But I had a few reasons to keep it a secret. I hope that you can forgive me one day…"

Yugi, or to be exactly the pharaoh, stood around Jesara's bed and Ishizu looking at them with a curious expression. They didn't really knew what to expect.

„Ishizu… Jess…" Yami said strained. „What is this all about…?"

„And how does it come that Jess is the wife of an insane sadist with a horrible haircut who wants to rule the world?" Joey cut in, his face definitely annoyed and bewildered from the latest events.

Jesara forced a smile, but her eyes still expressed a mixture of unease and sorrow. „Child marriage, Joey… It's a common practice in egypt and especially for an ancient clan that lives like time stands still. I've been married to him one day before…" She paused and looked down to her bruised hands that laid in her lap. „…before he got initiated as a tomb keeper."

Ishizu sat herself down on the bed beside Jesara and gestured her that she wasn't alone with this right now. „I know you have a lot of questions, but let us start from the very beginning…" She said softly and stroked her fingertips across the golden millennium necklace around her neck. „Marik and I were born as the children of the ancient Ishtar clan which protected the tomb of the great pharaoh for the last 5000 years… your tomb, my pharaoh." Ishizu narrated and then locked eyes with Yami.

„5000 years ago my family vowed to the great pharaoh to stand guard in front of his tomb and watch over the secret of his memories. It was our ancient purpose to wait for your return and give you the key to your former power and lost memories as you wished us to do in ancient times. We used to live underground, far away from the modern world and society. And we never were allowed to go outside. For Marik it was hard to accept that it was his destiny to spend his life in the tomb waiting for your return. I understand that he did awful things to you and you will never forgive him for his actions, but I want you to know that he started his life as a big-hearted and innocent child like you and me. My brother still has this big-hearted side inside of him, but it got overshadowed by his anger. Jesara knows what I'm talking about…" Ishizu's piercing blue eyes drifted over to her. Jesara forced a smile and nodded at her sister-in-law, visibly a bit ashamed from the situation right now.

„As the son of the tomb keepers Marik was supposed to continue our families traditions and endure the initiation ritual on his 12th birthday." Ishizu continued with gentleness and wiseness in her words. The gang stared at her like little children at story time.

„Initiation ritual…?" Tea repeated her words with a questioning raised eyebrow.

Ishizu inhaled to answer Tea's question, but all of the sudden Jesara cut in. „As a tomb keeper Marik was supposed to carry the secret to the pharaoh's power on his back. It's an ancient scripture that was given from father to their sons to their grandsons over the millennials. And the initiation ritual is some kind of a official handover of the secret." She sighed when old memories of that day crossed her mind and closed her eyes before she continued.

„Since I know Marik he always was a brave, happy and warm hearted mind. But the closer the day of his initiation came, the more fear built up inside of him. Marik was well aware of the fact that by the time he received the initiation he would be bound to the tomb and the life underground for the rest of his life. I remember when he said that he is forced to sacrifice his life for an ancient pharaoh that will possibly never return. It made him sick that his life might be completely wasted. Well… Our adoptive brother, Odion, offered to step in for Marik so that he can be free and live his life. Odion is the most faithful person I ever met, he'd walk through fire to protect the clan and Marik. Marik's mother found him as a little baby, abandoned in the cold and they raised them as he was their own child. He wanted to give something back to the Ishtar family, but Marik's father went completely crazy at this and denied it." Jesara paused a few seconds to make herself a bit more comfortable again and pushed the pillows behind her back back in place. In the meantime Yugi and the gang sat down at the nearby table to listen to what the women had to tell. Then Jesara looked over to Ishizu, her gaze was begging her to continue.

The black haired woman smiled gently at her and nodded, then looked back to the pharaoh and the gang. „I'll never forget when out father and his servants came to bring Marik to the initiation chamber. He struggled against his destiny with all his strength, but to no avail. He suffered for nearly the whole day and his pain-stricken screams could be heard in the whole tomb… They echoed through every single corridor."

„Suffered…?" The pharaoh asked, wanting Ishizu to explain it a bit more.

„The secret of the pharaoh was carved into his back with a dagger… heated by fire to make sure the scars are deep enough to last for the rest of his lifetime… until he hands it over to his son one day." She explained with a pain filled voice and gaze.

„Oh my god… That's horrible…" Tea covered her mouth with her palm to express her concernment.

„Ishizu and I prayed the whole day for his well-being… But we'll never forget how his screams filled the whole tomb for hours and hours. I can't image the pain that he was forced to endure." Jesara cut in and wrapped her arms around her chest, she always got cold when she thought back to it.

„Marik blamed it on the pharaoh that he had to sacrifice his life to him. He never was the same again after receiving the initiation of the tomb keepers. Something malevolent awoke inside of him to come to terms with the pain and hate he felt. Odion felt so guilty for not being able to prevent Marik from it, so he performed his own ritual as a sign of solidarity and loyalty. That's what his tattooed face is all about. It was his way to prove his faith to my brother." Ishizu narrated as her voice grew sadder. „Just a few months later Jesara got sick, her fever was high and our own medicine savant almost gave up on her. Today we know that she had measles. We didn't know if she'd make it through the night and Marik begged me on his knees to sneak out and get modern medicine for her. It was a hard decision to make… On one hand it was prohibited for us to leave the tomb and get in touch with the modern world, on the other hand she might have died if we didn't break with our traditions. Odion and I were certain that losing Jesara would wreck his young mind completely. He had suffered enough for a boy of the age of 12. Our father didn't really care about it at all. He said that he'd get Marik a new wife to save the holy bloodline of the Ishtar clan, so for him Jesara's death would have been nothing more than a collateral damage."

„This guy sounds like a heartless creep…" Joey stated and rubbed his chin while listening to their story.

„JOEY!" Tea urged him and shot the blonde an upset glare at his disrespectful statement. „You're talking about his father!" At this she cuffed him on his backhead.

„It's okay…" Ishizu sighed. „Our father was a strict and traditional man. We know that not all of his decisions and thinkings were human. But let me tell you the rest of the story…"

**/ FLASHBACK**

„Okay, Marik…" the young Ishizu sighed and glanced over to the heavy breathing little Jesara who laid in the bed next to them. Her fever got up to 104 degrees F° lately, by now her condition was life-threatening. If they didn't act now she'd probably won't make it through the next 24 hours. Jesara was asleep, but the high fever caused heavy sweating and shivering at the same time.

„I will cover you while you're outside and make sure that father doesn't recognize that you left." Odion reassured and smiled softly at the young siblings. „We can't let her die…But she will when we don't get some modern medicine. Master Marik, I know what she means to you."

The young Marik nodded with teary eyes and wiped away the sweat from his best friends and wife's forehead with a wet towel. Wife… That sounded so surreal and strange.

_Marik and Jesara have been best friends for years, they were inseparable like soul mates. Of course they didn't love each other like adults do; both were only 11 and 12. Their childish minds didn't get the purpose of marriage and the meaning of it at this point of their lives. But being just an inch away from losing the only person he had in his life - besides Odion and me - showed him how much he really ‚loved' her. And so we stole out of the tomb without our father knowing, risking a lot of trouble… At this point I didn't know that it was the beginning of the real trouble…_

Marik's lavender eyes gleamed and looked fascinated at his surroundings. It was a huge market, hundreds of people strolled around the place to buy or sell things. The sun burned on his skin and the warmth felt incredible comforting. He had no idea of how the outside world would look like.

„Sister, where do we get those things called medicine from?" Marik asked his older sister curiously while his lavender eyes scanned the place for an indication of what they were looking for.

„I think I see a stall for healing methods and medical supplies over there! Maybe they have what we need." Ishizu said and pointed her finger towards the stall she mentioned. The two siblings approached it to see what they had to offer.

„Are you looking for something special? May I help you?" An older man with a long white beard behind the counter asked kindly. Marik stared at him like he was some sort of an alien; he never spoke to someone else than his father and siblings. Social skills weren't his best talent.

„Yes sir, we need medicine for our sick sister." Ishizu explained, but she decided to cut on the sister-in-law and wife-part of the story. Things would have gotten too awkward then. „She suffers from high fever, shivering and she has red tiny spots all over her body… We don't know what to do and we need medicine to treat her with."

The old man looked at them with a thoughtful gaze, after a moment he looked like he had an idea of what might help their ‚sister'. „I see… And I think I have something." He stood up from his seat behind the counter and grabbed something from the drawer behind him. Then he placed it on the counter before them. „This medicine should cure her fever and help her body to fight the illness. I think that your sister has the measles - just from the symptoms you described to me. I don't want to lie to you, but that's a deadly disease and even if you treat her with this there's still a chance that she dies. But at least she will have a 50-50 chance to survive."

Tears gathered in Marik's innocent lavender eyes at the words of the old man. This wasn't what he wanted to hear, but this was better than nothing.

„We take it. What do we owe you?" Ishizu said and waited for the old man behind the counter to tell them the price of the medicine.

„This comes to 950 egyptian pounds, miss." He answered and smiled at the black haired teen.

„Oh…" She gasped and checked the amount of money she managed to find in her fathers quarters when he wasn't around. „I'm afraid that we don't have that much money…"

„Mh…" The old man murmured. „Maybe you have something else to swap?"

Ishizu sighed and shook her head in dismay. But then her little brother cut it. „I have!" The sandy blonde boy exclaimed and struggled to get something off of his finger. When it finally came off he placed a ring made from pure gold on the counter. The ring was very special, hieroglyphs were engraved into it incredibly detailed. Marik knew that it was much worthier than 950 egyptian pounds, but right now he didn't see another chance to buy the medicine.

„Marik!" Ishizu shouted out loud when her younger sibling offered his wedding band for bartering. „You can't give it away! What would Jesara say when she finds out that you sold it?"

„I won't have any more use for it when she dies. So I rather give it away if it saves her life." Marik said and looked back at the old man behind the counter, who eyed the golden ring to check its quality.

„Young boy, that's a beautiful piece. But I have to be honest that this is worth much more than 950 pounds. That's not a good deal for you." He said to make them aware of the fact.

„Then give us some more medicine and supplies with which we can treat her. But please promise me that you don't give it away and that I can buy it back from you when I have enough money one day, okay?" Marik asked with teary eyes.

The old man nodded in agreement and put the medicine such as a few other things into a brown paper bag and handed it over to them. „I promise it to you. I appreciate how much you care for your sister. She must mean a lot to you, little boy. I'm here every day and I will have your ring here so you can buy it back every time. Thank you and good look."

_Marik was sad that he had to give away his wedding band, but at this moment he was left with no choice. Material things never meant a lot to him and if it helped him to save Jesara's life it was a low price he had to pay. Then we wanted to make our way back home as soon and as fast as possible. But my brother found a magazine laying on the sandy ground, especially the picture of a motorcycle caught his interest. It was like love at first sight; I could see the fascination in his eyes and he wanted to take it with him. I gave in because we didn't have the time to argue about it. I'm afraid that this played a part in contributing to why he refused his purpose as a tomb keeper and left the tomb about a year later. I introduced him to the outside world and I guess it empowered the darkness inside of him just more._

_On our way back we bumped into a stranger who seemed to know about our clan and our mission. He said that a great evil will rise and put the worlds sake at stake. The stranger also told us that the pharaoh will be back soon and that we should prepare for his return. At this point we didn't believe in his words… We ran back home as fast as we could, but when we got back we had to recognize that our father found out about our little trip to the modern world. He went totally crazy and beat Odion half dead. Our father wanted him to leave forever and never come back. We tried to explain it to our father - but to no avail._

„Oh no! Odion!" Ishizu cried out when she saw Odion lying on the cold floor. „Please stop, father! Let me explain!"

„Ishizu! Marik! You knew that it's not allowed to go outside for any reason! And now Odion has to suffer and leave because of your dumbness!" He yelled back, completely out of his mind. They never saw him that outraged.

„Father! Please!" Marik begged, but suddenly an intense headache troubled him. He clung his head with his hands, but the pain got worse and worse. His sandy blonde long hair rose from his shoulders and pointed in all possible directions. His lavender eyes were half narrowed, his irises turned blank and dark. Also his voice was suddenly much darker and lower than usual; it didn't sound like Marik anymore, but like something else - something malevolent.

_This was the first time Marik's dark side took control over him. We had to watch how he killed our father with the millennium rod and sent his soul to the shadows. Marik's dark side also wanted to kill Odion and me, but Odion managed to stop him. I believe that Odion's loyalty and faith towards my little brother is the reason why he managed to hold the evil spirit inside my brother back. But when Odion got hurt today Marik's dark side was finally able to break free again._

_When Marik became clear again and saw what happened to our father the stranger appeared again. He said that my brother has to change his direction as long as it was still possible. But Marik believed that his fathers death was caused by the pharaoh, who took revenge for our failure to leave the tomb. We never told him that he…or to be exactly his dark side killed our father. We decided it was better when he didn't know the truth. This was another failure we made._

_Since then Marik was the wielder of the millennium rod and I inherited the millenium necklace. Because of Jesara's condition she didn't witness what happened and we never told her about it either. We told her the same as Marik when she got better because of the medicine we bought at the market. She didn't have to know that my brother's mind was the home of another, evil entity._

**/ END FLASHBACK**

„Ishizu!" Jesara gasped in horror. „Why didn't you tell me!?"

„I didn't want you to fear Marik… You were his only person to rely on since that day. Please forgive me for my decisions." Ishizu explained and locked eyes with her sister-in-law beside her.

„So this entity that controls your brother now is his dark side that killed your father?" the pharaoh asked to be sure he understood their story correctly. Ishizu nodded at him with sad piercing blue eyes. „And because he believed that I did kill him all those years he wanted to take revenge?" Again Ishizu nodded at him.

„Sacrificing his life for you by being a tomb keeper, losing his father and the pain he suffered by receiving the initiation, seeing the outside world and what he was meant to never have… All of this caused that the anger and hurt inside of him became stronger and so also his dark side grew stronger. Little time later my brother decided to leave the tomb and his life as a tomb keeper behind. He took Jesara and Odion with him, founded the criminal organization of the Rare Hunters and made plans how to become pharaoh himself… And that's why things are like they are now…" Ishizu explained.

„Let me guess… Marik needs the three egyptian god cards and my puzzle to claim ‚my' power?" the pharaoh asked and raised an eyebrow.

„Yes… He needs to collect all of them and win your puzzle in a duel. If he succeeds the whole world could be destroyed. His evil side has the very same plan, but well… he's much much worse. My brother's alter ego was born from his hate and dismay. This entity just wants to destroy and take revenge. Please, my pharaoh, you need to stop him and bring my brothers good side back…" Ishizu begged him with sorrow in her eyes.

„But there's still one thing I'm curious about…" Joey cut in and rubbed his chin again. „Jess, why did you keep all of this a secret? And what the hell happened to your back? The doctor said you might have been abused or something?"

Jesara cringed at Joey's question. He was right, there was still a part of the story untold. Her story, her secret. „Well…" She inhaled and exhaled deeply to calm her nerves. „Marik, Odion and I left the tomb. I vowed to him that I'll stay by his side come what may. At this time I didn't know that I will have to break this promise. He founded the organization of the Rare Hunters to collect rare duel monsters cards and sell them on the black market by high prices. I have to admit that my life with Marik at this time was quite luxurious. We earned a lot of money and the organization grew bigger and bigger. One could say that I had everything a girl could ever dream of like clothes, jewellery, an intelligent and good looking husband, a yacht, butlers etcetera etcetera. One day Marik had the idea to become pharaoh himself - I mean, the manual to do so was carved into his back. He knew everything about it. Why spend the rest of his life stealing cards when he could rule the world? In his opinion he deserved to be pharaoh himself and that he had suffered enough in his life. From the moment of his initiation he became angrier, more and more frustrated, manipulative and stern. It overshadowed his true nature like I came to know him. But after all I always felt uncomfortable being a part of a criminal organisation and I never agreed with his whole taking-over-the-world-plan. I could have left earlier, but I stayed because I promised it and we were some kind of soul mates; after all he was my anchor in life. And I guess I was his."

The pharaoh and the gang listened to her attentive, but then Joey cut in again. "Did you…" But sometimes Joey's mouth worked faster than his brain. By the second he started to speak he wished he didn't. Tea narrowed her eyes dangerously at him. Asking what he wanted to ask was extremely indiscreet.

Jesara paused for a second and said nothing; she knew what he wanted to ask and of course everyone wanted to know. Joey just said it out loud. She smiled slightly, but her eyes were still telling the opposite. "…love him?" Jesara finished the sentence and looked at the blonde teen for reassurance. "More than you think. We were best friends from the day we met, we walked through everything together and friendship turned into love. That's how it works sometimes I guess."

Jesara felt a heavy weight lifting from her shoulders; it felt good to clear things up once and for all. Old memories came to her mind. "And I also did when Marik changed for the worse. We became more and more distant to each other because of it, but it never really influenced my feelings for him. Odion and I shared the same opinion about his plans and change, but we stayed."

Ishizu patted her shoulder to spend Jesara some comfort. Her sister-in-law seemed somewhat proud of her that she spoke about her feelings and secrets upfront.

"And why did you leave then?" The pharaoh asked sternly. Jesara's gaze grew sadder again and her body language told them that he hit her weak point.

"To make one thing clear… I had a million reasons to leave, but I stayed… until this one particular day. Marik always said that everybody has his breaking point." Jesara said with a touch of melancholy. "He found mine."

**/ FLASHBACK**

_At this time our headquarter, home or whatever you want to call it was located in the deserts a few miles away from the city borders of Cairo. Marik succeeded in finding the well hidden egyptian god card "The Winged Dragon of Ra", although Ishizu helped Pegasus to make sure the three god cards won't ever see the sunlight again. He commanded Odion and a bunch of his other slaves to find "Obelisk The Tormentor" as well, but he failed. Ishizu's necklace warned her and so she was able to cross Marik's plans this time. When Odion came back to our headquarter to deliver the bad news Marik freaked out completely. I never saw him out of his mind like that before. Marik was like a hurricane at that moment and lost control over his actions. _

They stood in a big, windowless room from the size of a saloon. The floor was made from finest marble and egyptian statues decorated the corners of it like it was a royal place. On each side of the saloon stood a bunch of Marik's slaves in their typical Rare Hunter's attire in rank and file. At the end of the saloon three marble steps led to a golden throne which also was decorated with egyptian signs. Marik, who was dressed in his signature deep purple cloak, sat on it with his legs crossed and his right hand held the millennium rod. Additional to it he wore a golden headpiece which also had the Anubis eye on it like the ancient millennium items always had. The light in the saloon was dim but bright enough to see the faces underneath the purple cloaks. Jesara, dressed in the same attire, stood beside Marik who lifted from the golden throne with a jolt when Odion and two other cloaked men entered the saloon. A deep growl left his throat when they approached and kneeled down respectfully.

"HOW DARE YOU ALL TO DISAPPOINT ME!? HOW COULD IT HAPPEN THAT YOU DIDN'T BRING OBELISK WITH YOU!?" Marik shouted at the top of his lungs, raging and glaring thousands of daggers at Odion and the two others close behind him. Jesara and the other Rare Hunters cringed in fear when Marik started to scream. They knew their master was someone you should never mess with - never.

Odion still kneeled before the raging sandy blonde teen and didn't dare to lift his head to look at him. "Master Marik, I'm sorry to disappoint you… But Ishizu has been warned by the necklace that we were coming to steal Obelisk and hid it in another secret location…" Odion explained with regret in his low voice.

"YOU'RE ALL USELESS FOOLS! ALL OF YOU! IT TOOK US MONTHS TO FIGURE OUT ITS LOCATION!" Marik spat in fury. Jesara made a careful step towards him and stretched out her hand for his shoulder to calm him down a bit, but he immediately slapped it away. "Don't you dare to touch me right now!"

She said nothing but stared at him in shock. Although she got used to it that he treated her like one of his slaves sometimes but Marik never got physical towards her before. It was best to remain silent this time and wait until the storm was gone. She took a step back again and shot Odion an apologising glance. Her lips formed a silent "I'm sorry."

"LUMIS!" Marik yelled to catch the attention of one of his other servants who stood on the sides of the saloon. The short man cringed at his name and made a step forward and then he also kneeled down to show his master some respect. A pale light enhanced from Marik's millennium rod while there was only silence. Since Marik was used to it to have a mind link connection to all of his servants Jesara was certain that he told him something mentally. Lumis cringed again and looked at his master in dismay.

"M-Master Marik…" the short man stuttered. "Do you really want me to…?"

"OBEY ME AND STOP TO QUESTION MY COMMANDS OR YOU'LL BE NEXT!" Marik yelled at him. At this Lumis stood up and left the saloon in a hurry. Jesara was curious about what Marik had told him, but she was sure this wasn't good at all. Still she didn't dare to say just one word. When Lumis came back she covered her mouth with her palm in shock; her eyes widened when she saw what the short man brought with him.

"I guess you all have forgotten that I don't accept any failures and it seems that I have to remind you about that." Marik stated in a bit more calm tone now, but his expression still scared the crap out of his slaves. What was this all about? "And because of that, Odion - you useless fool - I will let you feel how much I don't accept failures! Maybe 20 strikes with the whip will make myself clear once more."

At this statement Odion said nothing, but stood up and started to undress from the den purple cloak. His loyalty towards Marik was nearly endless and if this was the consequence of disappointing his master he was ready to deal with it without any question. Also his expression didn't change at Marik's threat. The bulky egyptian accepted it. Lumis approached his master to hand over the whip he brought from another room of the headquarter.

"NO!" Jesara shrieked and forced herself between Odion and Marik to protect him. "I can't let you hurt Odion! You're overacting, Marik! Please calm down! We'll find Obelisk in no time, I'm sure! You don't have to do this!" She begged him with watery eyes. His dangerously narrowed lavender eyes locked with hers.

"Jesara, that's none of your business. Step beside." He commanded in a dangerously calm tone. She knew he was close to losing it again, but letting him hurt Odion was out of question for her.

"No." She said short and crisp; her heart bumped a million miles a minute right now. A low growl left his throat at her stubborn negation.

"I give you one last chance, Jesara. Step beside." Marik warned her one last time; his voice was close to exploding. Jesara swallowed hard while her frightened eyes were still locked with his.

"Then you'll have to force me. I won't let you hurt him with that stupid whip." Jesara denied and shook her head.

"As you wish." He said stern and handed the whip to Lumis again, still locking eyes with his wife. "Lumis, my precious wife wants to step in for this fool of a servant. 20 as I said and make sure she counts every single strike."

Jesara and Lumis gasped in horror at his words. Her body froze and within seconds she was unable to move herself just one inch from where she was standing. Has he just commanded Lumis to punish her instead of Odion? Marik has never hurt her physically.

"Ambra, Ilias. What are you two fools waiting for!?" Marik spat at two of his other servants and commanded them to relay to grab and hold her in place to them. They hesitated a second and looked at each other in puzzlement, but then they decided it was better to obey their master. Jesara shrieked when they grabbed und pulled her away from Marik and forced her to kneel down to the floor. She squirmed under their tight grip that held her down - but to no avail. Her whole body fell into some kind of state of shock.

"M-Marik…." She gasped and looked at him in horror.

"Master Marik! Stop this! I will take the consequences like a man! She has nothing to do with that!" Odion stood up behind her and tried to make Marik change his mind again.

"SILENCE!" Marik screamed all of the sudden and raised the millennium rod towards the bulky egyptian who dared to speak up against him. A beam of light enhanced from the golden item and with a jolt an invisible force pinned Odion against the wall behind him. Marik used the rod to make him unable to move.

In the meantime Ambra and Ilias ripped off Jesara's purple cloak and top she wore underneath it from her trembling upper body. Sobbing heavily she wrapped her arms around her chest to cover her femininity from all the eyes which stared at her from all directions of the saloon. Fear suffocated her and made her unable to say just one word to beg him to stop.

"Master Marik!" Odion screamed, still pinned to the wall and unable to move. "Stop that!" But Marik ignored his pleads and glared over to Lumis, who still stood there in puzzlement with the whip in his hands.

"Lumis!" Marik spat in rage to catch his attention. "I'm waiting!"

But Lumis didn't move when his eyes met his master's lavender eyes. He hesitated and his hands trembled heavily. Lashing his masters wife was too much for him. "I-I can't… p-please Master… d-don't force me to d-do that." The short man stuttered.

"You fool!" Marik insulted him, grabbed the whip out of his hand and shoved him so hard that he lost balance. "You'll probably be next when I'm finished with her!"

His sharp words sliced through her ears like knifes. Jesara squinted her eyes and tightened her grip around herself while her bare back was still faced towards Marik. She didn't know what was coming next, her brain seemed to shut down because of fear. Tears ran down her cheeks and her heart beats echoed in her head. But then she let out a painful cry when the first whip stroke hit her like a sledgehammer. Jesara bowed down in anguish when the sharp pain shot through every inch of her body. She felt how a warm liquid slowly ran down her spine.

"COUNT!" Marik spat from behind her. "Or I'll make it five more!"

Jesara whimpered before she managed to press out a word with a faint voice close to breaking. "One…"

Within seconds the next stroke hit her back at full tilt and she exhaled another pain-filled scream. It felt like someone sliced her into pieces with a dull knife. "Two…" She whispered under her breath.

_We did this 18 more times before he stopped and let go of me and Odion. By this time my body switched into some kind of state of shock. I don't remember the pain of the last ten strokes and it seemed like my brain shut down to protect me. Who knows…_

_Odion and another one of Marik's servants brought me out of the saloon and away from him. It took almost the whole night for Odion to disinfect, stitch and treat my wounds. I never felt such a pain in my whole life and I never expected Marik to be capable of hurting me like that. This night was my breaking point._

_And it was the last time I saw him… until now._

**/ END FLASHBACK**

Silence filled the room. Nobody dared to say a word as they stared at the young girl with the light grey hair and dark roots. With her bruised hand she wiped away a single tear from her left cheek.

"Oh my god… I-Is that why you never joined the swimming lessons…? Jess, I'm so sorry…" Tea muttered and sobbed slightly. Jesara forced a smile and nodded at her female friend. "Exactly…"

"Oh man, Jess… I knew this guy was nuts, but hell… Marik is worse than I thought. How could he do such a thing? Promise you, Jess, I'll kick him off of the blimp next time I see him around here!" Joey growled and again Tea slapped the back of his head to make him shut up.

"Could you be a bit more careful with your words!?" Tea hissed.

"It's okay…" Jesara sighed.

"What happened next? How did you come here?" Yami asked curiously to get back to the current topic.

"After Odion treated my wounds I asked him for a favour. I was done with my life at Marik's side and I didn't know how to carry on with him after what he's done to me. I was ready to draw the line under this part of my life. So I begged Odion to help me to get away without Marik's knowing." Jesara continued the story and remembered when Odion came back to her room to get her prepared for her escape. "Odion managed to get me a secret bank account with enough money on it to cover all possible expenses for about a year. Additional he got me about 9.000 egyptian pounds in cash, packed my most important belongings into a small suit case and got me a faked passport. When we were sure Marik was asleep he smuggled me out of our headquarter and sat me into a taxi to the Cairo International Airport. There I bought the first one-way ticket I could get… Well… And here I am. The first available flight was to Domino City. One week after I got here I met you…"

"And why for gods sake didn't you tell us about it? At least when Marik tried to kill Joey and me?" Yami asked again. His arms were crossed in front if his chest and his tone was still firm, she'd better have a good explanation for keeping it a secret. But before Jesara could answer his question Ishizu cut in.

"It was my fault, my pharaoh. Please forgive me. My millennium necklace showed me that there was a chance to change my brothers mind and bring the old Marik to the surface again. It showed me that Jesara could possibly have enough influence on him to stop him and save us from the worst. She came to the museum and I begged her to keep it a secret from you for at least a while. If she told you everything about her connection to Marik we would have forfeited a chance." Ishizu explained with a sorrowful glance towards the gang.

"To be exactly…" Jesara then cut in. "It's true, Ishizu begged me to dig out the good Marik from underneath his anger and hate. But Odion asked me the same too. After Marik kidnapped us I had the chance to talk to Odion. He said that Marik was sorry for everything he had put me through, that he still _loves_ me and I could possibly be the key to bring him back to mind. Well, Odion was right… He still has some kind of feelings for me and I have some kind of influence on him, but I still didn't figure out how to make him stop. However… It was necessary to keep it all a secret from you. If I told you everything I could have lost the last bit of Marik's trust. I'm sorry… very sorry…" She apologised with watery eyes.

"Don't apologise… I can now understand why you didn't tell us everything. It's okay. You had a good reason for it." Yami said and gave her a slight smile.

"My pharaoh, you need to stop my brothers dark side and defeat him… Please, help us to get the true Marik back…" Ishizu pleaded and her piercing blue eyes looked at Yami in hope. "I'm sorry for what he has done to you."

Yami nodded at Ishizu's plea in agreement; then his look drifted over to Jesara again. "I only have one question left…" He said and locked eyes with her. Jesara looked at him curious about what his last question was. "Do _you_ still love him?"

Jesara froze at his question. She really didn't expect that and she lifted her right hand to lay it onto her chest to feel the ring on her necklace underneath her tank top while she thought about what to say.

"I don't know…"

**AN: Yeah, very emotional and brutal chapter. But I hope you liked it anyway and you don't mind :P Sorry I didn't get more detailed about this lashing part of the story, but I didn't want to make it a massacre! :P**

**Please make sure to leave a review and let me know what you think about this chapter.**

**Happy Easter! :D**


	13. Chapter 13: Wake Me Up

**AN: I hope you all have a great easter time! Since I'm not really celebrating things like that I made myself comfortable on my balcony, listened to music and enjoyed the sun while finishing chapter 13 for you. (I'm a Grinch when it comes to things like christmas, easter, carnival and stuff like that. LOL)**

**This chapter contains a mixture of a flashback and a nightmare. Be prepared for a bit of horror hahaha I love horror series and movies, so why don't put a little bit of that into Jesara's nightmare?**

**Again a big thanks to all who reviewed the story so far. I'm so happy that some of you leave a review on every chapter! Much love!**

**FunFact: I've been to a festival today in my hometown. Guess what? I came across a new Shisha Bar and its name is ISHTAR! So so cool.**

**Enjoy reading chapter 13!**

* * *

**Chapter XIII**

**Wake Me Up**

It got late in the evening and the gang decided to try to get some sleep before the finals of Battle City begin on the following day. Yugi / Yami and the others were sure that Marik's alter ego won't make it easy for them and if they don't stop him he'll probably destroy the world as they knew it. They wished Jesara a good night and left her room to get to their own quarters, but when Joey was almost out of the door he stopped and turned back to her.

"Uhm… Jess?" He asked sheepishly as he looked back at her with slightly blushed cheeks. She smiled back at him but curiously raised an eyebrow when she recognised Joey's red face.

"Yes? What is it, Joey?" She said with politeness in her tone. Joey made a step towards her. The blonde scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously. He always did that when he was uncertain about something.

"I-I wondered if the two of us…" Joey stuttered and tried to cover it with his sunny boy grin. "Ahm, maybe we can meet for a coffee or dinner when your divorce is official?"

Jesara grimaced at his question. Did he really ask her for a date? NOW? From all possible moments to ask her for a date this was the worst to choose, besides the fact that she friend zoned him from the day they met and had no romantic interest in him. And why did he think that she will file for divorce?

"Ahm… Joey? I'm sorry but I think that you-" But before Jesara was able to finish her sentence Tea rushed into the room and grabbed Joey by his ear, glaring angrily at him. She then pulled him out of the room and the doors slid shut behind them. Jesara stared at the door for another few seconds in confusion. _'What the…'_

She let out a sigh and rearranged the pillows on her bed to lay down and get some sleep. The heart monitor she was connected to stood beside her bed and always showed the same sinus rhythm. Kaiba's doctor on this flight may be a bit too concerned about her condition. The machine's display enhanced the room with dim red and blue lights after she turned off the room's light, but it didn't bother her at all. Jesara was far too tired to worry about something like that. She laid down in the bed slowly - her body still hurt a bit with every move she made although she got painkillers from the doctor. Jesara let out a little moan when she finally managed to get herself comfortable and closed her amber-olive eyes.

A lot of thoughts haunted her mind and didn't let her sleep for quite a bit of time. Finally she cleared things up and told her friends everything about her and her past. It felt so soothing to her soul - like a gigantic rock that had lifted from her shoulders. On the other hand there was this demon that possessed Marik's body and wanted to reign and destroy the world for some reason. Jesara was certain that Ishizu wanted her to prevent this from happening, but obviously she failed miserably. She wondered about what happened to Marik's soul when this demon took control over his body. Did his alter ego really send him to the shadow realm? Did he have to suffer where he was now? Then she tried to remember the moment when Marik's dark side wanted to send her to the shadows too, but the millennium rod didn't want to work properly. Ishizu said that the true Marik protected her from the power of his rod with his last bit of strength.

_'__I hope that Marik's dark side won't come for me again… When I'm somehow immune to his power of the millennium rod, so who knows what he's about to do to me instead just using his hands.'_ She thought to herself and hoped that her friends made sure to lock the door behind them when they left. _'You really need to get some sleep, Jesara… Sleep now, sleep.'_

Jesara tried to count sheep mentally to fall asleep faster. When she reached sheep number 74 she slowly drifted off.

**/ MEANWHILE IN ODION'S ROOM**

His room was dark and silent, just the light of the moon shone through the tiny bull's eye window to illuminate it a bit. Kaiba's doctor just came to check on his health condition and if he got a bit better. But Odion was still in a comatose state and asleep. The doctor let out a sigh and turned to leave the room. Outside he made sure to lock the room with his master key. Suddenly his body froze and for some reason he was unable to move.

"I'll take the master key if you don't mind, doc." A deep voice said from behind him. It was Yami Marik, who took the key card from the solidified man and opened the door to Odion's room with it. He then stepped in front of his bed and chuckled evilly.

"Long time no see, you little fool. It's time for me to get you out of the way once and for all. We don't want you to lock me up again, do we?" Yami Marik grinned as he unpacked the dagger that was hid inside the handle of the millennium rod. "You held me back far too long, my dear Odion. I should have killed you when I had the chance last time."

Yami Marik raised the dagger up in the air, ready to stab the bulky egyptian to death while he was unable to protect himself. But suddenly his arm didn't obey him anymore when an unfamiliar power hindered him to move the dagger just one inch closer to the unconscious Odion.

"You should better not touch him." A male, dark voice said from behind him. Yami Marik turned to see who dared to interrupt his intentions. It was a white haired teen with brown eyes who grinned confidently at him.

"You? How did you do that?" Yami Marik growled angrily and pointed the rod towards Bakura when he was able to move again.

"You're not the only one who wields a millennium item." Bakura chuckled as his millennium ring became visible with a beam of golden light. "And I'm not alone." Suddenly Marik's translucent spirit appeared beside the white haired teen, who was obviously controlled by the entity of the ring. Marik glared dangerously at his alter ego who possessed his body.

"I'm here too and I want my body back!" Marik snarled with seriousness in his voice.

But Yami Marik only laughed heavily at his statement. "Hahahaha, that's sweet. And you think that your little friend can help you with that?"

"I won't surrender my body to you without a fight!" Marik growled beside Bakura and narrowed his pale lavender eyes at him. "I heard everything when Ishizu and Jesara told the pharaoh about what happened in my past! Now I know that you killed my father and not him! And I will make you pay for what you did to me and my family!"

"Don't tell me that your life didn't change for the better after I sent our father to the shadows. You should better thank me for that, my dear Marik." Yami Marik shrugged with his shoulders and rolled his eyes innocently.

"Shut up and give me my body back!" Marik spat back.

"We challenge you for a duel. Since the powers of our millennium items seem to be equal, we should discuss this incidence in a shadow game." Bakura grinned at Yami Marik with a certainty of success.

Yami Marik chuckled demonically at the two teens in front of him. "I'd never say no to a little shadow game. Hahahaha."

**/ MEANWHILE IN JESARA'S DREAMS / FLASHBACK**

The sun was just a few minutes away from rising over the egyptian desert and painted the sky with breathtaking shades of blue, orange and bright red shades. It was about 5 o'clock in the morning and Odion made sure that Marik was asleep before he had smuggled Jesara and her suitcase out of the the Rare Hunters headquarter. A taxi came to a halt in front of them.

Odion stuffed her suitcase into the car trunk and made sure to avoid any loud noises by closing it again, so he did it as softly as possible before turning back to Jesara, who stared at him with watery eyes.

"This taxi will bring you to the airport." Odion whispered gently. "I want you to buy a ticket for the first possible one way flight you can get… wherever it will go."

Jesara nodded to show that she understood. "I won't ever see you again, Odion…" She muttered with sorrow in her young voice. Odion sighed in dismay.

"I'm afraid yes… Don't try to get in touch with me or… Ma-…him again. I don't know how he reacts when he finds out that you're gone." Odion asked her and laid his hands onto her shoulders to comfort her.

"Thank you, Odion… for everything." She said gently and hugged him. Staying here was out of question for the young girl, but saying goodbye forever to Odion was harder than she thought it would be.

"You have the money, passport and everything with you?" Odion asked to be certain that she had everything she needed to start over new somewhere far away from here. Jesara nodded at him as a tear ran down her cheek.

"You should go now, Jesara." He urged and pointed towards the waiting taxi beside them. He opened the back door for her to climb in. When she sat into the back seat of the taxi Odion smiled at her again and shut the door as silent as possible. The windows of the taxi were half opened and Odion commanded the driver to bring her to Cairo International Airport without any stops. When the motor came to life again Odion locked eyes with Jesara for the last time. "Goodbye." He said with a gentle smile before the taxi drove off.

**/ MEANWHILE ON THE STRATOS DECK**

The shadow game was in full swing and think, dark shadows surrounded the two opponents. Yami Marik decided to touch up the duel with a little side effect. Everytime one of the duelists loose life points they will lose a part of their body to the shadow realm. Bakura's life points already reduced to 1900 and he controlled Headless Knight (1450/1700), Goblin Zombie (1100/1050), The Earl of Demise (2000/700), and Puppet Master (0/0) in attack position on his side of the field. Yami Marik still had all of his life points remaining and his Drillago (1600/1100) - also in attack position - such as a face down card in front of him.

Marik, whose translucent spirit floated beside Bakura and glared angrily at his companion. He had already complained several times about him wasting their life points for useless turns. They weren't the most perfect partners in crime and Yami Marik enjoyed the entertainment from the other side of the field.

"Stop wasting our life points! We'll need them if we want to win this!" Marik hissed at his companion and balled his fists angrily. Bakura glared dangerously at the sandy blonde spirit beside him.

"Don't tell me how to duel, you parasite! Everything's going just fine here! Calm down!" The white haired teen spat back.

Yami Marik chuckled at their little clash and thought about how he could mess his weaker half up once more to make it a bit more interesting. "Hahahaha. This is almost as funny as my little duel with the sweet Jesara earlier this evening." He grinned and waited for his weaker half's reaction at his statement.

Marik growled deeply at his alter ego. "I will make you pay for hurting her like that!"

"You wanna make ME pay? Oh come on, little Marik." Yami Marik teased him with a devilish grin. "She's fine. And a few little bruises are nothing compared to what YOU did to her two years ago. Compared to that my duel with her was a cuddling session!"

With those words Marik's alter ego hit a weak point. "I already apologised for what I've done to her." He grumbled with a hint of compunction in his voice.

"Maybe. Hahaha. But did she also forgive you? It's so funny to see how hard you fight to get back to someone who hates you. Hahahaha." Yami Marik laughed heavily and stood tall at his spot on the dueling platform, crossing his hands in front of his chest. He knew how to gall his weaker half and make his blood boil. And right now he wanted to find his breaking point and unsettle him.

Marik was lost for words at his statement. He was right. Since they met again a few days ago she had insulted him, pushed him away and wasn't quite happy to see him again. But there were still those two… kisses they shared and obviously enjoyed.

"And didn't your precious Jesara use your pitiful feelings for her against you to cross your plans? I think you're trying to get something back that you lost a long time ago, my dear Marik." His evil grin grew wider and wider with every venomous word he said to irritate him.

"You don't know anything!" Marik hissed with anger that built up more and more with every second.

"I know a lot more than you. You were blinded by this stupid thing called love. She feels nothing but hate for you, little Marik. I've been there all the time and I can sense the beauty of hate in people. But I have to admit that she's a quite sexy catch. Hahaahaaha. What a pity that you damaged such a beautiful shell." Yami Marik taunted again. He enjoyed how his weaker half started to tremble with unease. "I'm quite sure that she doesn't give a fu*k about what happened to you. Maybe it's the best that happened to her since you two met. Hahahaha."

"YOU'RE WRONG! Shut up now and make your turn!" Marik commanded and glared daggers at him. In the meantime Bakura rolled his eyes in annoyance several times.

"I'm not. Why din't you ask her yourself?" Yami Marik chuckled with dark, demonic eyes. "Oh wait! You don't have a body anymore! But don't worry, I'll take good care of her." With this words he licked his upper lip to suggest him what he probably meant by that.

"Don't dare to touch her!" Marik was close to losing it completely. But then his unlikely companion cut in.

"Don't let this idiot get to you! Can both of you please shut the f*** up and concentrate on the duel!? I don't have endless time and I'm not in the best mood for a couple therapy today! Make your turn!" The white haired teen growled at his opponent and waited impatiently for him to continue.

Yami Marik drew a card and activated it right away. "I play Vengeful Bog Spirit. Now monsters can't attack in the same turn they are summoned. And with this I end my turn. Go on."

"I know what you're trying to do, Marik! Since I stole the Winged Dragon from you in my last turn you want to save your butt! But that can't help you now, because I will now sacrifice my Headless Knight (1450/1700), Goblin Zombie (1100/1050) and The Earl of Demise (2000/700) to summon your Egyptian god card!" Bakura explained and put the golden card onto his duel disk.

"Nice turn, but before you summon Ra I want to introduce you to my face down card." Yami Marik cut in when his trap card flipped open. "I activate my trap card Joyful Doom. It decreases the attack points of your monsters to 0 before they are sacrificed and increases my life points by the total decreased amount of their attack points! That gives me 8550 life points in total and your Winged Dragon is just a harmless little chicken! Hahahahaa" Yami Marik explained and let out a demonic laugh as he saw every colour fading from Bakura's face.

"B-But… that means that Ra has 0 attack points…" Bakura stuttered when his three monsters shattered into pieces and the golden phoenix emerged from the dark clouds behind the white haired teen. Also Marik stared at the beautiful dragon behind them in shock.

"Surprised?" Yami Marik taunted from the other side of the field.

"Shut up! I switch Ra and my Puppet Master into defense mode and end my turn!" Bakura declared and passed over to his opponent.

"It will be a pleasure for me." Yami Marik said and drew his next card. "Drillago, attack his Puppet Master and send him to the graveyard.!" With that his creature bolted forward and destroyed Bakura's zombie-like monster. Because it was in defense mode his life points were save for now. "Your turn."

Bakura drew and looked at the card in his hands, he then grinned at his opponent. "This duel is almost over. First of all I tribute The Winged Dragon of Ra to summon The Dark Ruler in attack position! (2450/1600)." The golden phoenix vanished from the battlefield and a dark monster appeared in front of him. Yami Marik didn't seem to care at all.

"But I'm not finished yet! Next I remove my Gernia, Headless Knight, and Puppet Master from my graveyard to special summon my beautiful Dark Necrofear in (2200/2800) attack mode! And at least I sacrifice 800 of my life points to bring The Earl of Demise (2000/700) back to life." Bakura explained and gained confidently at Yami Marik, who was still unimpressed by his turn.

"Hahahaha." Yami Marik chuckled evilly. "You sacrifice an egyptian god… what an irony." He drew his next card and again his demonic grin grew wider when he looked at his card. "Get ready to spend the rest of eternity in the shadows. I play Monster Reborn!"

When the spell card appeared in front of him Bakura gasped in horror. This meant nothing good. He was going to bring The Winged Dragon of Ra back to life.

"Calm down, you idiot! When he summons Ra with Monster Reborn it has zero attack points!" Marik contended beside his white haired companion whose eyes were filled with fear when the golden phoenix renewed behind Yami Marik.

"You're right, my dear Marik. But although you studied the ancient secrets about the egyptian gods you still don't know everything. Ra has another secret effect…" Yami Marik explained grinning. Suddenly his body started to vanish.

"What's going on!? Why does your body dissolve!?" Bakura asked in confusion and a hint of anxiety in his voice.

"The secret effect of Ra allows me to transfer my life points to his attack points. That's why my body vanishes into the shadows, but I will keep one single life point to prevent me from losing. That gives my beautiful creature 8549 attack points in total. That's your end. Hahahaha" By now only his right eye and his hand were left from his body. "And no my great god, destroy their monsters and send them to the shadows!"

Bakura's and Marik's eyes widened in shock; there was nothing they could do to save themselves now. Ra was far too powerful. Fire gathered in its mouth as the golden dragon prepared for its attack. When Ra shot its attack towards Bakura and Marik's spirit beside him their monsters burned in the flames. The same inferno that Jesara experienced earlier surrounded them now. The heat was almost unbearable. Marik cried out loud with pain before his translucent spirit dissolved in the flames of Ra's attack.

**/ MEANWHILE BACK IN JESARA'S DREAMS**

The ride to the airport took them about an hour. Jesara's bandaged back hurt with every pothole the car drove over. She stared outside the window when they drove through the city streets of Cairo to soak up every single impression of her home country. It could be the very last time she sees it.

The taxi came to a halt in front of a huge modern building. Hundreds of people with different kinds of nationalities and skin colours strolled around in front front of it. Most of them carried large suitcases and trollies with them and all of them looked stressed, annoyed and in a hurry. The taxi driver got off the car and took Jesara's little suitcase out of the trunk, then he opened the back door for the young girl and shot her a polite smile. She handed him a two bank notes - enough to pay the bill plus a good gratuity. He then drove off and within a minute the taxi was out of sight.

Jesara stood in a huge foyer and looked around in confusion. She has been to airports before, but she always knew where she wants to go and what her destination will be. This time it was different. From now on she was alone and no aim. Her upper body still hurt and made it hard for her to walk upright, but she tried her best to look normal and not like an abused little girl who tried to run away from her family. She approached a counter and was happily greeted by an egyptian lady with a black bob hair cut and pitch black eyeliner.

"Ähla saba! How can I help you?" The lady asked politely. Her employee tag said that her name was Ayla.

"Ähla saba. Ahm, I'd like to buy a one way ticket for the next available flight." Jesara said sheepishly and placed her passport onto the counter. She prayed to all gods she knew mentally that nobody recognises that it was fake.

Ayla nodded kindly and made a few clicks on her computer. "Where to?"

"Doesn't matter… Anywhere. But I'm open for any recommendations." Jesara forced a smile and tried to look as less suspicious as possible. Ayla raised a brow at her request and then looked back onto her computer's display to check the next departing flights and their availabilities.

"Mh, let's see. I can get you a flight to Greenland, but I have to admit that it's a horrible cold place to go to and there's almost nothing except of ice there. But I have one free seat left on the flight to Domino, Japan. It departs in less than two hours." Ayla said and smiled at Jesara.

"Sounds good. Then I guess I'm going to Domino." Jesara accepted her offer kindly and looked carefully at every move Ayla made when she checked on her passport and typed in her data. The fake seemed to be pretty good and Jesara was relieved when the kind lady handed it back to her with the boarding pass. The ticket was cheaper than she had expected, so she had a bit of cash left to kill the remaining time until boarding in the duty free store. Maybe she could find something as a keepsake to her home country, her origin.

But she ended up with a bottle of an egyptian perfume that smelled of lotus flowers, ambra and jasmine. All other egyptian souvenirs were made from pure plastic and made in china. And since the flight to Domino will take about 11 hours she got herself a pack of breadsticks and a sudoku booklet too.

xx

"Dear passengers, thank you for being with us on todays flight to Domino, Japan. Please fasten your seatbelts. We're ready for take off." The stewardess said through the intercom and the engines of the plane roared to life. Jesara got a window seat and stared outside when the plane speeded off. The pressure from the speedup squeezed her into her seat, she moaned sightly when her back got pushed into the quite hard seat back.

Jesara looked down to the beautiful golden panorama of Egypt underneath her when the plane ascended higher and higher into the air. She fell into a state of melancholy and tried to hold back some tears; this was probably the last time that she sees her home country. On the other hand she was relieved to get far away from him and determined to leave it all behind and to start over new. But she wasn't sure what to await when she got off the plane at her destination. She had never heard of a city called Domino and the fact that she will be homeless when she gets off the plane didn't ease her nerves either. There was a lot to do and a lot to fix when she arrives in Domino.

Suddenly she felt a warm breath on her neck and ears, a deep threatening voice whispered at her. "Did it hurt, my dear?" Jesara knew this dark voice and it immediately gave her goosebumps when her eyes widened in shock. She turned her head to see who it was, but she already knew before her eyes looked into blank, dark lavender ones that stared at her in amusement.

"Y-You? W-What…" She stuttered in disbelief. Her heart skipped a beat as she locked eyes with her biggest nightmare.

"Surprised to see me here, my dear?" Yami Marik chuckled evilly from the seat next to her. "You should have booked a first class ticket, sweetheart."

Jesara was lost for words. Why did he haunt her in her dreams? How did he get into them? Was it really him or was it all a product of her brain to compensate her fear? Whatever his appearance in her dreamworld was about… it made her shivering.

"Get out of my head and dreams! You're not welcome here!" She spat anxiously.

"Ohhhh no." Yami Marik cried out sarcastically. "And I thought you'd like to have a little chitchat during this long flight."

She answered him only with a soft growl and slipped a few centimetres to the side in her seat to get at least a bit more distance between her and Marik's darker side. He grinned at her with his annoying devilish smirk and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You know, my dear… I didn't have the chance to thank you for leaving my weaker half."

Jesara raised an eyebrow in confusion at his words. Did he jerk her around for some purpose? "Why should you do that?"

"Oh my sweet Jesara… Because of you Marik was so full with negative emotions, mental pain and hate that I got stronger and stronger. You helped me a lot, my dear." Yami Marik taunted from beside her. His evil smirk never left his lips when he leaned a bit closer to her. "So thank you very much."

"Bullshit. That's not true!" She snarled back and glared daggers at him. Jesara pressed herself against the cabin wall of the plane as he drew closer to her, but her back still hurt too much.

"But it is, sweetheart. It's all your fault and I can't thank you enough. And I have to admit that you're just as coldhearted as me. You used my weaker half's pitiful _feelings_ for you against him without batting an eye. That was very seductive to see. You're just as fucked up as me, my little Jesara." Yami Marik smirked and leant his face closer to hers. He stroked her cheek with his fingertips to rattle her a bit more.

"You're lying!" Jesara choked back tears and slapped his hand away from her. "STEWARDESS! COULD PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME HERE!?" She screamed out loud to get some help from the other passengers or crew. Yami Marik laughed heavily at her attempt to get some help.

Suddenly Jesara let out a piercing scream of horror when she looked into the face of the stewardess who came to look after her. Blood came out of her eyes, ears, nose and mouth and ran down her face. Her eyes were completely white, no pupils, no irises… just white. "Miss, I'm afraid that nobody can help you right now." She said with a demonic warped voice and smiled innocently at her.

"She's right, my dear. Since I'm unable send you to the shadow realm because of my pitiful weaker half I will bring the shadows to you instead. This fear looks very sexy on you, sweetheart. Hahahaahaha." Yami Marik laughed demonic in excitement.

Jesara's breath got heavier and she pressed her eyes shut in fear. Her hands covered her face in protection. _'Wake up, wake up, wake up!'_ She begged mentally. But to no avail. After she closed her eyes she was again surrounded by the familiar inferno which she had experienced when Yami Marik attacked her with The Winged Dragon of Ra. She felt the same heat like last time.

"Jesara!" A familiar voice echoed through the flames that surrounded her. "Help me!"

_'__Marik…?"_ Jesara thought in confusion. The voice… it sounded like him. She turned around to get a clue about where his voice came from. _'Where are you!?'_

But then she locked eyes with him, flames separated them and hindered her to get closer to him. Marik stared at her with fearful eyes. "Marik!" Jesara cried out loud but flames cut off her way when she tried to get closer to him. And then everything faded to black.

xx

"NO!" Jesara exclaimed when she awoke from her nightmare and sat up in her bed. She sweated heavily and hyperventilated. It took her a minute to calm down at least a bit as she realised the nightmare was over. This almost scared her to death. She massaged her temples to make the pictures from the dream go away.

"Marik… where are you…?" She muttered under her breath.

Jesara cringed when she heard how suddenly her room's door slid open. _'Don't let it be him…' _she thought to herself in horror and didn't dare to look who was coming for her. Hopefully it was just Kaiba's doctor who got an alarm from the heart monitor. Her heart rate must have been alarming when she woke up from that fucked up nightmare.

"Jesara." A warped voice said softly. It sounded like Tea, but there was another voice in the undertones. Like someone was talking through her. Jesara tilted her head up and saw Tea standing in front of her bed. She raised an eyebrow in confusion, but then she recognised her blank eyes and emotionless gaze.

"T-Tea..? What's wrong?" Jesara asked curiously.

"It's me." Tea responded with two voices mixed together. "Marik."

Her eyes widened in shock but also relief. Marik? But how? She tried to get up from her bed, but the effect of the painkillers seemed to wear off. Her body still felt sore. "H-how? M-Marik, I…" She was lost for words as Marik's translucent spirit separated from Tea's body and drew closer to where Jesara was lying. Her heart skipped a beat because of his unexpected presence.

"Don't stand up, you're hurt and that's my fault. Why didn't you run away as I told you?" Marik asked in concernment as he sat down beside her. His lavender eyes scanned her bruises on her arms and face.

"No… It's my fault. I couldn't let you alone with that… How did you get here? I thought you were banned to the shadow realm…" She questioned and she still didn't realise that he was really here, it felt so surreal. Was it just another dream? Jesara prayed that it wasn't.

"I don't have a lot of time to explain everything. A part of my spirit still rested in Tea's body from the last time I controlled her with the rod. That's why I'm able to be here." Marik explained. "Why do you think it's your fault?"

Tears gathered in the corners of her amber-olive eyes when she remembered her nightmare. "I-I had a dream a-and I dreamed how I ran away and there was your darker side in the plane and he said that he only got that strong because I left you and that I'm the reason for his take over and - and…" She started to get troubled again when she recalled her nightmare.

Marik sighed at her words. "Shhhh… Calm down." He said softly. "His existence is only my fault… I know I've hurt you a lot, but I need to know. Was it all a great fake to change my plans? Did you try to use my devotion for you against me on purpose? Is there really just hate you feel? Please be honest." His pale lavender eyes looked intensively at her, ready to be disappointed for life.

Jesara froze and didn't know what to say. She inhaled deeply before answering his question. "F-First I did… yes." Marik hung his head at her reply. "But then I realised that the more I wanted to hate you the sicker I got… Y-you know what happened when you kissed me last time. I don't hate you although you gave me a hundred reasons to do so. But after all I still don't know what I feel. All I know is that I want you back in your body and that this demon disappears…"

For the first time in years she didn't feel hate or fear for him and from the moment he walked into her room she gave up on trying to hate him. Maybe Ishizu was right… There are bonds no pain can break.

"I heard you say that when you and Ishizu told the pharaoh about our story. I'm so sorry for everything and I'd give everything I have to undo my mistakes. But not knowing about what you feel is better than hating me… It's more than I expected after all. I'm sorry for harassing you so badly before all of this happened." Marik said with a touch if relief in his tone.

"You heard everything we said? So… then you also know about the truth about your fathers…" Jesara swallowed hard before finishing the question. "…death?"

Marik nodded in consternation. "Yes… All the years I wanted to make him pay for something he never did. I feel awful… It was all a big misunderstanding and because of that I've put the worlds fate at stake…"

Jesara stretched out her arm for his shoulder, but she wasn't able to touch or feel him. He was just a ghost, bodiless, untouchable. She chocked back a tear when she saw how her hand glided through him like he was made from air. "I'm grateful to hear those words from you…"

"All those years of hate and resentment…" Marik sighed in dismay. "I hope that you and Ishizu can forgive me one day."

"Shh…" Jesara tried to sooth him. "First we try our best to get you back into your body… Tell me how I can help you to get rid of this evil entity…"

"Only the pharaoh can help me now and I would understand if he doesn't care what happens to me. Only he can defeat my darker side, but I don't know what happens to me when he does." Marik explained with a sad tone. "But promise me, whatever happens… stay away from him. My alter ego has intentions with you that I don't dare to say out loud and since he defeated Bakura and me in a duel lately I'm too weak to protect you from the rod. I don't have a lot time to explain that to you now... But please don't come close to him."

She gasped at his words. At least she felt a bit saver to know that she was somehow immune to the rod because Marik managed to protect her with his last strength. But now she would probably be an easy prey for his dark side. "Okay…" Jesara muttered. "I promise."

"I just wanted to make sure that you know how sorry I am for everything. This may be the last time we see each other…" Marik's voice got quieter. "And please take care of Odion for me."

Jesara couldn't hold back her tears anymore. "We will see each other again. Don't be so negative." She sobbed and wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"I have to go now…" Marik sighed looked at her with somber lavender eyes. "I love you… and I really mean that." With this words his translucent body started to fade away and vanish into a dark fog.

"Marik…" Jesara whispered. "You know I can't… say that."

"I know." He replied with a touch of disappointment in his voice. With that he was gone and Tea's body slumped to the ground when Marik let go of her. Jesara lifted herself up from the bed to get to her and tried to ignore the sharp pain of her contused ribs that shot through her body with every move.

"Tea…" Jesara tried to wake her up. "Wake up…"

Her brunette friend came back to consciousness slowly and a soft moan left her throat when she opened her eyes again. "Jess… W-why am I here…?"

"That's a long story…" Jesara sighed and recalled what Marik just said to her before he had to leave. She felt helpless. And having an evil demon around her that was after her didn't make it feel any better.

_'…__I will bring the shadows to you instead…'_ Yami Mariks words from her nightmare echoed in her mind when she helped Tea to stand up. After everything what happened between her and Marik in the past Jesara missed him.

She missed him bitterly.

* * *

**AN: I hope you liked chapter 13. :-) I'm already working on the next one. I have a few ideas for it, but still thinking about "how dirty" I want to write the interactions between Jess and Yami Marik :P **

**Pls leave a review and now would be the best time for some evil ideas for Yami Marik & my OC :P**


	14. Chapter 14: Fear For Breakfast

**AN: Chapter **14 is finished and finally up! Believe me, it wasn't easy to write because I wanted to give it a deeper meaning. I think I did a quite good job :P

I already told you in the ANs of chapter 13 that I thought about „how" dirty and evil I want to make / write the interactions between Yami Marik and Jesara. Since I messed her dreams up completely in the last chapter I decided to make it as nasty as possible. This wasn't easy to write for me, because it's hard to find the correct phrases and vocabularies when it comes to details. But I guess it turned out quite well.

I'm sorry that I probably won't update until next week (as you know, I'm quite fast in updating this story), but there's a big event at the end of the week I've been waiting for two years now! I'm so excited! It's some kind of an award gala and the project of me & my friends is nominated in 7 categories. And since I passed out completely last time at the after party I think that I won't be sober until Tuesday hahaha. Enough private stuff, I just wanted to say that I won't have much time until next week. :-)

Guest Review Response to YGO-FAN: Thank you so much for reviewing almost every chapter! Especially your latest review on chapter 12 made me so happy! That was exactly what I wanted you all to feel by reading this chapter. Thank you!

Alright :-) And now enjoy Chapter 14!

* * *

**Chapter XIV**

**Fear For Breakfast**

"I will explain everything to you later, Tea." Jesara said softly and helped Tea to get back on her feet. Being possessed by someone else could be quite exhausting. "But you should get some sleep now. It's about 5.30 in the morning and it's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

Tea blinked at her friend in confusion. "O-Okay…" Actually Tea wanted to know right away if she was sleepwalking or god-knows-why she woke up on the floor in Jesara's room. But she agreed with it.

Jesara walked Tea back to Joey's room down the corridor. Walking was still hard for her, but she tried her best not to look too awkward. "Try to get some more sleep, Tea. We'll talk about that right away when Kaiba serves breakfast. Good night." She smiled at her friend and waved goodbye to her when Tea opened and walked into Joey's room. Since there were only enough rooms for each of the finalists her friends decided to share one with Joey.

_'__Damn… I don't think that I can get back to sleep after that nightmare and what Marik said earlier…'_ Jesara said to herself mentally. She was afraid of another awful dream with Marik's alter ego in it - one was enough for now. And since Marik said that he can't protect her from the millennium rod anymore she was also afraid that Yami Marik does something evil to her while she was asleep. Expecting the worst case these days got more and more plausible for her. So she decided to search for the kitchen and get herself some coffee or something else refreshing.

Luckily she found it right next to the entrance of the hall, but she struggled a bit to figure out how Kaiba's super fancy coffee machine worked. It took her five minutes to find out, but finally she managed to get a cup of perfect cappuccino from it. Of course that machine had the shape of a Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon and each head prepared something else. One for milk, one for coffee and the third was for hot water. Jesara rolled her eyes. _'Of course Mr. Rich & Famous needs his own blue eyes coffee machine when he has enough money to blow. Men, typical. They really never grow up, but their toys get more expensive when they get older.'_

Back in her room she decided to ease her nerves with a hot shower. She felt filthy from sweating so much during her fucked up nightmare earlier. Much to her dismay she needed to accept that there was just nothing she could do to help Marik out of this misery now. Although she wanted to help him so badly all she could do now was hoping that the pharaoh will be able to defeat his darker side. Feeling helpless was an unbearable feeling for her and not knowing about her own feelings right now didn't feel good either.

Marik had confessed his love to her again and again, but all she was able to say in return was „okay". _‚You can fix something that is broke, but you will always see the scars.' _She said to herself mentally as she undressed herself in the bathroom and looked at the scars on her back in the mirror. Mentally she asked herself what her life would be like if that day never happened. What would it be like if Marik never lost control that day? Would they still be together? Would she be here in Domino with him and fight against the pharaoh to claim his power? Would she love him if he never hurt her that badly? Maybe, but she would probably never know.

Under the shower she had time to recall on this nights events while the hot water ran down her bare tanned skin. She had hematomas all over her arms and upper body but she tried ignore that she looked like a rape victim. Thank god that these were just temporary.

Her nightmare also haunted her when she was wide awake. _'It's your fault that I got stronger and stronger…'_ she recalled Yami Marik's words mentally while she massaged the shampoo into her light grey hair. _'Maybe he's right… Because of me he felt much more anger that nourished his darker side… How could Ishizu say that I may be the only one to get him back to mind when I'm obviously the reason for this mess…?'_

Although Marik had told her the opposite earlier she was beset with feelings of guilt. His darker side knew how to mess her up completely and maybe he wanted to play both ends against the middle for fun. Who knew? And on the other hand she was now an easy prey for the predator. Only the thought of having to face him again during the finals sent a fearful shiver down her spine.

_'__I love you… and I really mean that.'_ Marik's words from earlier echoed through her mind… the way he looked at her told nothing but honesty. She missed him and only Ra knew why she did after everything that happened between them. Jesara's hands stroked over her lower back when she massaged her skin with the delicious smelling body wash that Kaiba provided in every room's bathroom.

She remembered when Marik had forced himself into her room before the duel between Bakura and Yugi and how he kissed her… the way he tasted… the way he touched her… the way his lips felt on hers. Let alone how his body felt against hers gave her goosebumps of desire. His smell, his body warmth... Since two years she wanted to cut him out of her life, but craved for him now that he's gone…maybe forever. Jesara choked back a tear at those thoughts while the hot water ran down her naked body.

She wrapped herself into a super fluffy towel after she got out of the shower. After she towel-dried her hair she applied some eyeliner and mascara and put on her black skinny jeans and tank top. It took her a while to slip into her pants since her body still felt sore with every move she made. By now it was about 6.15 in the morning and she thought about getting herself another cup of coffee. Maybe it would do her good to enjoy it on the stratos deck and get some fresh air to get her mind straight after this awful night.

Her heart skipped a beat as she opened the bathroom door and was met by blank lavender eyes. Again her body froze in horror. Yami Marik had somehow managed to get into her room while she was busy with showering. But how? Jesara had double checked that her room's door was locked from the inside. He had made himself comfortable in the lounge chair with elegantly crossed legs and smirked at her in amusement, his long tanned fingers stroked the top of the millennium rod playfully.

"Good morning, my dear. Ready to continue where we've stopped yesterday?" His dark voice taunted. His evil grin scared the crap out of her while she tightened her grip on the door handle like her life depended on it.

"H-how did you get in here!?" Jesara questioned hysterically. "Get out!"

"Oh I borrowed a master key from Kaiba's kind doctor. Oh come on, don't be so harshly to your husband, sweetheart." Yami Marik leant forward in the lounge chair and smirked in his typical, dark manner that Jesara remembered from her nightmare lately. His every movements were just as well perfectly calculated and elegantly like the real Marik, but ten times more evil. His dark side was just how she always imagined how Jack The Ripper would have acted or spoken. He was exactly how she imagined a perfect serial killer.

_'__A master key!? B-But when he can come in here with it… then… Oh no. Odion!'_ She put the pieces together mentally and started to shiver. Could it be that Odion was already dead? She tried to hold back a whimper by covering her mouth with her palm.

"Hahahaha. I know what you think, my dear. But unfortunately I just found an empty bed in this poor fool's room. I guess my sweet sister has something to do with his disappearing." Yami Marik sighed but was still chuckling at her.

Jesara exhaled in relief at his words… at least Odion seemed to be safe and sound. Maybe Marik had warned Ishizu about his darker side's intentions with Odion. But it gave her goosebumps when she thought back to Marik's warning to stay away from him. Him being in her room meant nothing good. How could she get out of this now? Why did he come for her?

"What do you want…?" Jesara asked in faked confidence and glared daggers at the demonic version of Marik.

"You know… This foolish spirit of the ring and your precious Marik challenged me for a duel last night. For some reason he really wants to get back to you, my dear. However, long story short: They lost and now he can't hinder me from using the millennium rod on you anymore and the both of us still have a few things undone." He explained in an evilly amused tone as he lifted himself up from the chair and made a few calculated steps towards her.

Jesara gasped in horror as he came closer and closer to her. She grabbed for a vase made from real venetian glass from the high board beside her and threw it at him in panic to keep him away from her. But he eschewed the flying object easily and before Jesara was able to react Yami Marik grabbed her by her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. Now her back was faced to him as he pinned her to the wall; her face rudely pressed against it. She let out a whimper when her face met the wall and his grip on her arm made her almost unable to move because of the pain her twisted arm caused her.

"I love your temperament, my dear." He whispered into her ear from behind her. Jesara's heart bumped a hundred miles a minute when she felt his body leaning against her back. His warm breath on her neck made her shiver from fear and his hips pressing against hers without mercy didn't made the situation any better for her. She was helpless now.

"Let go of me…" Jesara muttered under her breath and tried to squirm out of his grip, but the pressure on her bruised ribs caused a sharp pain that short through her body and she immediately stopped. His nose encircled her ear softly when he grinned because of her hopeless attempt to get out of his grip.

"The scent of your fear is unbelievable seductive, my dear." Yami Marik smirked into her neck. She cringed when his other hand touched her waist while the other one twisted her arm behind her back a bit more. A painful moan left her lips and her whole body trembled as she felt the tip of his tongue on her ear.

"Stop touching me, you disgusting pig…" Jesara whimpered in aversion. The tighter his grip on her became the more her bruises from yesterday started to hurt again. But fighting against him was useless; he was way too strong and it would probably cause her more pain than it already did.

"Don't be so shy, little Miss Runaway. I promised your precious Marik to take good care of you while he's away for…" He taunted and stroked his nose tip over the spot behind her ear. "…let's say forever."

A tear ran down her cheek at his venomous words. His touch on her skin disgusted her so much she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but panic didn't let her. It was like her lungs weren't working because of the fear that overwhelmed her whole body. "Are you going to rape me now..?" Jesara cried with a weak voice.

His hand that was placed on her waist drifted down to her lower abdomen slowly and underneath her tank top. Her breath got faster and heavier by every centimetre of her body he touched. "Oh dear, calm down a bit. It's not like this hands hadn't touched you like that before." She could feel him smirking beside her ear and neck.

"You're not him…" Jesara whined and tried to prepare herself mentally for what may happen to her - but to no avail. Right now she prayed for a miracle or that Joey would come back to wake her up or ask her about a date - anything. As long as it gets her out of this frightening situation. Mentally she said a prayer, knowing it won't save her at all. A tear slowly ran down her cheek and her body tensed up as she felt his hand opening the button and zip of her black pants. She pressed her eyes shut, thinking about a way to get through whatever he wanted to do with her without ending up as a mental mess. "Please, stop that." Her voice was nothing more than a painful whisper.

His smirk grew wider, she could sense it without even looking at him behind her. "What should I stop with?" He sung evilly into her ear, sending a shock through her whole body when his hand slipped into her now open pants and underneath her underwear without any effort. "Oh dear, what's wrong about having a little make-out session?" By now she sobbed heavily between her fast, deep breaths. Feeling his bare hand between her legs, covering her womanhood made her scream mentally, but panic didn't let her scream for help. Knowing that this was obviously just the beginning of something much worse.

Panicking she tried again to squirm free from his grip in pain. But his hold on her was way too strong for her. Jesara sensed a tingling all over her body that suddenly froze her body like stone, making every move or try to break free impossible. A bright golden light that enhanced the room was the evidence for something she feared the most: the power of the millennium rod, keeping her every movement at bay and leaving her hopelessly to his mercy.

Suddenly he turned her around so that she was looking right into his threatening blank lavender eyes. Now he didn't need to use his hands on her wrists to subject her to his will. He pressed his body against hers with almost all his weight. Not even a piece of paper would fit between both of them and it was almost impossible for her to take just one deep breath. His face was now unsustainable close to hers while she still felt his right hand on her most intimate spot between her legs.

"Tell me, little Jesara." He whispered in a dangerously evil tone, full of frightening delight. His bright smirk played mischievously on his lips. "How does it feel to be so full of fear?" With one abrupt movement he forced two of his piano thin fingers into her. A sharp painful moan escaped her throat, followed by heavy jobs while her arms were pinned to the wall above her head by the ancient power of the millennium rod.

Jesara pressed her eyes shut with all her might and turned her face as far away as possible from his. Salty tears ran down her burning cheeks while she had to endure his movements inside of her. It disgusted her so much she felt how her stomach prepared to vomit. But he instantly packed her roughly by her jaw with his other hand and turned it back to him. His grip on her jawline was so hard she was sure to get another bruise from it - if she survived this encounter.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked shakily between sobs. "Why don't you just send me to the shadows and end this…? Please."

Yami Marik chuckled demonically at her. "Oh no. It's far more exciting to enjoy you and your fright in the here and now. And believe it or not, I'm not really into necrophilia. So I decided it would be more amusing for me to bring the shadows to you instead."

Her glassy eyes widened in shock at his words - she heard him say that before in her dreams. _'…bring the shadows to you instead.'_ Did he really invade her dreams if it wasn't just a nightmare? Or was this just the worst case of irony ever? "You are insane…" Jesara whimpered in disgust. Then she let out another sharp cry when his two fingers penetrated her deeper, suddenly hitting her most sensible point without mercy.

"And you are too beautiful when you're scared to the bone and squirming under my hands, fighting the inevitable. If you only knew how perfectly we will get along with each other once I claimed the pharaoh's power. Especially at night." He chuckled and leant his face closer and closer to hers until his lips were just an inch away from hers. She pressed her eyes shut so that at least didn't have to see what he was about to do.

"Good morning, duelists! We'll arrive at Kaiba Corp Island in about an hour! Breakfast is served from now on until landing! Mr. Kaiba awaits your attendance for further information! Thank you!" Roland said through the intercom.

„Seems like we have to come back to this later, my dear." He whispered into her ear as he suddenly let go of her and made a step back. „And obviously this was enough fear for breakfast for now." Yami Marik laughed creepily as he turned on heel and approached the exit door with calculated steps. He paused for a moment and glanced back at her over his shoulder. "We will continue this little session soon. Promise, my sweet little Jesara." He taunted and licked his fingers that have been inside of her just a few seconds ago. It shot another shiver through her bones. And then he was gone, leaving her to the embarrassment and results of that encounter.

When the door slid shut behind him Jesara inhaled deeply like she hasn't breathed for the last five minutes and slid down the wall to her knees. She couldn't take in what had just happened. Marik's evil side played with her and it seemed like her fear was some kind of nourishment for him - she felt used in the worst way imaginable. He enjoyed sensing her fright and agony. Was this a fucked up version of playing catch & go?

Her hands trembled uncontrollably as she wrapped her arms around her upper body. Marik had warned her about his intentions, but at least she was certain that she would be save in her room. Now she got proven wrong - awfully wrong. The threatening visage of the stewardess in her dream last night came back to her mind._ ‚I'm afraid that nobody can help you now.' _she said to her. Little did Jesara know that she was right. He'd always find a way.

It took about five more minutes before she calmed herself enough to get back to her feet and close the zip of her pant again. She grabbed her leather jacket and put it on before she pressed the door button to open it. Before Jesara stepped outside she blinked left and right down the corridor to see if the predator was still around, but he was nowhere in sight. She sighed in relief and rushed down the hallway with caution. Her knees were still trembling and it was hard to keep her balance as she made her way to the hall. Hopefully she would be at least a little bit saver when she was around her friends.

„Good morning, Je-!" Joey greeted happily as Jesara entered the hall. Her friends were already there to get breakfast. But Joey's happy tone immediately turned to concernment as he saw her fear-ridden, pale face. „Jess? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

The blonde rushed to her side when Yugi and the others looked at her in confusion. „M-Marik… He tried to… He almost..." Jesara stuttered with a weak voice, but she didn't dare to say it out loud. Then also Ishizu rushed to her from where she was sitting with a cup of black tea.

„What happened, Jesara?" Ishizu asked in a worried tone. „You're trembling like an espen leaf…"

Jesara cringed as she saw Yami Marik entering the hall behind her, she could sense his diabolical smirk and eyes on her back. „Marik… this demon. He broke into my room and forced himself on me and tried to do Ra-knows-what with me…" She burst out crying and threw herself into Ishizu's arms for a comforting hug, sobbing heavily. At this Yugi and the others also joined them to get a clue about what happened with her.

„Oh sweetheart, I thought our little make-out earlier would be our dirty little secret. Hahaha. We didn't even get started yet." Yami Marik chuckled in sadistic amusement as he walked by. His deep purple cloak wafted elegantly behind him.

With that Joey lost it. He rushed over to him and packed him roughly by the collar. „How dare you to touch her with your filthy fingers, you creep! I should kick you off this airship right now!" Joey snarled angrily as he pulled himself closer to him. Still Yami Marik was quite unimpressed by Joey's death threat and smirked arrogantly at the blonde.

„I'd love to see you try, little Joey." Yami Marik teased as he looked down to the furious Joey who still held a tight grip on his collar. Joey formed a fist with his hand - ready to punch him right into his smirking visage. But he stopped when Kaiba's voice yelled at him from behind.

„STOP IT, YOU FOOL! Calm down or I will make sure to disqualify and kick YOU off this airship!" Kaiba hissed angrily. Everyone - except Joey and Yami Marik - stared at him in indignation.

„But he almost raped her! He's the one who needs to be disqualified!" Joey spat back at the young CEO, glaring daggers at him.

„The keyword is ‚almost', Wheeler. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill! It's not your business what kinds of sexual intercourse they practice behind closed doors since they're a married couple, you idiot! And I have to admit that I don't really want to know either! Stop it now and let go of him!" Kaiba barked angrily. Mokuba who stood by his big brothers side cringed at his insensitive words.

„Kaiba, youuuuuuuuuu…." Joey was close to losing it completely. Yami Marik enjoyed it to be defended by the CEO for no reason. Maybe he just did it to provoke Joey.

„Don't you dare to say what you're about to say, Wheeler." Kaiba growled with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

„Joey, do how he says and let go of him, although he deserves to get the stick! But you can tell him a lesson in a duel, Joey. Save your strength for that!" Yugi said and hoped to get Joey back to mind again.

The blonde glared back to Yami Marik's smirking visage before he finally let go of him. „You'll regret this sooner or later. Pray for not being my next opponent in this tournament, you jerk." He growled and went back to Jesara, Ishizu and the others. Jesara still buried her face into Ishizu's neck trembling from the latest events of the morning.

„Promise you, Jess. I won't let him come close to you once more time." Joey said still a bit angry.

„Thank you, Joey…" She said shakily.

„Dear duelists! As soon as we've landed on Kaiba Corp Island the tournament will continue immediately. Please be prepared to get off the airship then. After touchdown Mr. Kaiba and I will provide you with further instructions." Roland said professionally, bowed and turned to leave for the cockpit of the ship.

**/ AFTER LANDING - KAIBA CORP ISLAND **

Jesara made sure to stay as close as possible to Yugi and the others and to never be at her own at any time. Marik's alter ego probably won't harass her again while she was in their company. At least she hoped that he won't.

The blimp had landed on a small island that looked like somebody dropped a bomb on it. In the middle of the island stood an enormous tower made from steel, it was a bit similar to the one she had seen before in Lord of the Rings. For Jesara Kaiba always was more a kind of ‚Lord of the annoying Rich Kids', but she had to admit that this tower was quite impressive.

Yugi, the gang, Yami Marik and Jesara followed close behind Roland and Kaiba as they entered the main floor of the tower. Ishizu decided to stay with Odion to watch over him since Marik's darker side wanted to kill him.

There were only four doors in there and it didn't really have several floors; it was possible to see right to the top of the tower. Jesara doubted about the actual sense of this kind of tower as she looked up.

"Alright!" Roland spoke up and turned to face them. "The four remaining duelists of the Battle City finals are Yugi Mutou, Seto Kaiba, Joey Wheeler and Marik Ishtar. To determine the pairings for the first two duels we'll go for a foursome duel. All of you will duel against everyone in the exact same two. The first two duelists whose life points drop to zero will be the first pairing. The other two duelists will be the second etcetera. So please choose a door."

Joey and Yugi raised an eyebrow at that fancy idea of Kaiba for the tournament. Kaiba and Yugi just took the door that was closest to them. Joey instead had a hard time in choosing which one would probably be best or if there was any difference between them. The gang, except Serenity for sure, rolled their eyes and facepalmed at their friends difficulty in making easy decisions. When Joey finally decided for one of the two remaining doors Yami Marik decided to take exactly that one to annoy him. Again his head turned into the colour of a beetroot.

"Just take that door, Joey!" Tristan commanded from behind him before Joey was able to throw all kinds of insults at Marik's alter ego. He just growled at the egyptian before he walked through the last remaining door.

Jesara and the gang still didn't get a clue about how this could work. Then four platforms appeared about three meters above them, each large enough for one duelist to stand on.

"The rules are easy. You always make your turns in the same chronology. During each of your turns you can decide who you want to attack and on whom you want to use spell or trap cards. Any questions?" Roland explained and declared the beginning of the duel after he made sure that everyone understood how the whole thing will work.

"I hope that Joey doesn't make any dumb decision…" Jesara sighed and looked up as the four finalists made their first turn.

"What do you mean?" Tea asked curiously and raised a brow at her female friend, so did Tristan and Duke.

"All of them are able to influence who is going against who in the next round. And I hope that he's wise enough not to plan on challenging Marik's dark side…" She explained and looked over to her friends with concerned amber-olive eyes.

"Oh, yeah…" Tristan rubbed his chin as he recalled Jesara's words mentally. "But I guess that blondie isn't wise enough. Especially after what happened between you and this creep earlier."

"I'm afraid that's right…" Tea sighed at Tristan's words. "Joey is a good duelist, but Marik is probably playing in another league…"

"If I would believe in god I would say that he's the personalised satan. Marik's dark side enjoys to see and…" Jesara paused and swallowed hard before continuing the sentence. "…feel his victims fear."

"Uhm Jess?" Tea cut in. "Can we have a short talk in private? Maybe outside?" Her friend drew a bot closer to her and whispered. "You know… about my black out?"

Jesara blinked at her words. Tea was right, she still owed her an explanation for her passing out last night. And maybe a little girls-talk would do her good after her last encounter with Marik's dark side. She told Tristan and Duke to tell them if something special happens in the duel and went outside with Tea.

xx

"How do you feel now, Jess? Physically and mentally?" Tea asked out of the blue when they sat down on a big block of concrete outside the tower.

"I feel better, but still a bit sore… I've had better days - that's for sure." Jesara answered and laid her hand softy onto her contused ribs area. "Mentally I would like to crawl up and die right away."

"I'm so sorry… If you want to talk about what happened please feel free to come to me any day- or nighttime." Tea said and smiled at her sympathetically.

"Thank you… I really appreciate that. But now let's talk about what happened to you last night. But please promise me that you won't freak out, okay?" Jesara tried to prepare her female friend for the truth about her black-out.

Tea's expression turned into a graze of utter concernment. Jesara's warning in beforehand meant nothing good at all. „Okayyy - now I'm worried."

„You remember when Marik… I mean the normal one… controlled you and Joey to challenge Yami for a duel, right?" Jesara asked to start off slow and Tea nodded curiously. „Let's make it quick and easy: He took control over your body and came to walk to me last night. He was able to do that because a little piece of his soul still rests in you since the incidence on Domino harbor."

At this Tea's face turned pale like a piece of paper. „WHAT!? You're kidding me, Jess!"

„I'm afraid I'm not kidding you, but that's not bad at all. Marik is sorry for everything he did to us and he regrets his actions deeply. He's on our side and aims for the same like us now. But he needs you to reach out to us." Jesara explained to calm her down a bit.

„Oh my…" Tea sighed and rubbed her temples. „And what did I… uhm, he say?"

„Marik said that Yugi and the pharaoh are the only ones that can stop his evil side. And since Bakura and he lost a shadow duel against his alter ego he's weaker than ever." She recalled his words from last night, but decided to cut on the ‚I love you'-part of the conversation they've had.

„Oh, yes… Yami told us about that duel. He saw how Marik's alter ego defeated Bakura, but I didn't know that the good Marik was involved in it. I hope Bakura is good, we didn't see him since then…" Tea muttered in concernment about their friend.

„Oh…" Jesara didn't know that Bakura was actually gone completely. But the ghost of the millennium ring did always find a way back. Tea crossed her arms in front of her chest and she looked at her sheepishly before she spoke up again.

„How do you feel about that…? I mean… Marik put you through a lot of cruel stuff, Jess. Why did he come to you? Do you think about forgiving him?" Tea asked with a curiously raised brow.

„I don't really know what's going on between us. Let's say it's complicated. He still wants me back or something and wants me to forgive him, but I'm not sure if I can." Jesara said shyly. „Please don't tell the others about that, but when Marik controlled Joey and forced him to duel against Yugi… well. How do I say that? Marik lost his grip on Joey's mind because I kissed him out of the blue to distract him, because fighting him was impossible. I tried so hard to hate him, but my feelings are riding on a rollercoaster since then."

Tea held her breath for a second at Jesara's confession about their kiss and didn't really know what to reply. But then a phrase came to her mind. „Well… Sometimes you only know what you feel for someone when he's gone."

Jesara sighed in despair at her friends words. „Maybe you're right…" Little did she know by now how right Tea was. For a moment they stood in silence.

"Shall we go back in and see how the duel is going?" Tea asked and smiled at her kindly.

"Oh" Jesara almost forgot about the foursome duel that was going on inside of Kaiba's willy enhancement tower. "Go inside and cheer Joey and Yugi on for me. I want to look after Odion first."

"Okay. I give you a call if there are any news." Tea agreed and turned to head back to the entrance of the tower. Jesara instead lifted herself up and made her way back to Kaiba Craft 3.

**/ ISHIZU'S ROOM**

"Hey Ishizu." Jesara greeted when she entered room number 8. "Anything new?"

Her sister-in-law shook her head at her question and shot her a somber glance. "No, he's still unconscious. Why aren't you with the others?"

"They're fighting a foursome duel at the moment to choose the final two pairings. I wanted to check on Odion and I also don't want to be in the same room as Marik's dark side if it's not utterly necessary after today's incidence…" Jesara answered as she sat down beside Ishizu and looked at the bulky egyptian who was still knocked out from the thunderstruck.

Ishizu just nodded at her in understanding. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to protect or warn you, but I gave my millennium necklace to the pharaoh after we left your room yesterday night. So I had no idea that he's after you."

"Don't worry… I'm fine." Jesara lied - this was probably the joke of the decade. She wasn't fine at all but tried to look like she was to avoid their friends commiseration.

"We all know that you're a terrible liar, Jesara. And the fact that I gave the necklace away doesn't mean that I don't know that you are everything but fine." Ishizu said wisely. Jesara always wished to have such a good sense of human nature like her sister-in-law.

"He used me like an energy drink…" Jesara sighed in misery. "Marik must have suffered so much to create something so evil. I can't believe that I didn't know about this demon that has slumbered so long inside of him."

"Sorry that I didn't tell you." Ishizu apologised again.

"Don't apologise. Maybe it was better that I didn't know." She gave Ishizu a reassuring glance and smiled at her. "I'm sorry that I failed in saving him as you begged me to do. I feel awful…"

Ishizu looked at her with confused piercing blue eyes. „It's not too late yet. The future will guide us and especially you. Whatever you do, don't give up on hoping."

„How could you be so certain about that? I actually don't see a way to help him anymore. Marik also told me to keep calm and stay away from his alter ego as far as possible." Jesara raised a questioning brow at her. With the appearance of his darker side everything got worse than it already was before. How could she even do just a tiny thing?

„Because you care about his fate. Or don't you miss him? I can tell from the look in your eyes that you want him to come back. I told you that it's impossible to replace love with hate. You could easily just walk out of his life and don't care about him at all. And to be honest you have thousands of reasons to just don't care, but you do. You give Marik a reason to fight." Ishizu declared with wisdom in her soft voice. „It's all about forgiveness and it's nothing that you can actively influence. Our heart works different from the brain, Jesara. And forgiveness is a decision of your heart."

Jesara said nothing at her words, she needed a moment to let that sink in. „Sometimes I really wish you wouldn't speak in riddles, Ishizu."

Suddenly a vibrating noise interrupted them and Jesara searched in her pockets for her phone. It was Tea calling her. Probably the foursome duel was over now and she swiped right in her phone screen to answer the call.

„Hey Tea, are they finished now? Any news?" Jesara asked curiously and walked in circles in the room. She always needed to keep moving while talking on the phone. For some reason it always made her restless.

„WHAT?" She bursted out after Tea answered her question about the outcome of the foursome duel. „Is he insane!? I can't believe this! He's such a peabrain!"

If Ishizu would have had more than two eyebrows she would probably raise seven of them right now. She looked at the light grey haired egyptian girl in utter confusion at her reaction to the phone call.

„Alright, I'll be there in 5 minutes." Jesara groaned in bewilderment and ended the call; she then stuffed her phone back into her skinny jeans back pocket.

„What's wrong?" Ishizu asked. It was strange to see her asking about what happened, but without her millennium necklace Ishizu wasn't able to see the future anymore.

„It's Joey… He managed to challenge Marik's dark side in the next round. He's such a reckless idiot! Didn't he see how he roasted me within just a few turns? I just had the luck that Marik saved me from the power of the rod!" She railed against her friends risky decision.

„Oh… I'm sorry to hear that. Joey seems to be a very caring guy, but also a bit quick-tempered. Go and cheer him on, I'll stay here with Odion." Ishizu smiled at her and forced a smile to her lips.

Jesara nodded at her turned for the room's exit. „I hope he's not risking his life…" She sighed in consternation. „I'll come back as soon as possible." With that she left room number 8 and sprinted back to the duel tower.

As she reached the elevator to get to the top she was quite out of breath. The doors slid close after she pressed the button to go upwards. On her way to the top there were only seven words that reapeted again and again in her mind.

_„__Our heart works different from the brain."_

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**AN: Pretty messed her up, right? *hrhrhr* I'm evil, I know. Thanks to my obsession with horror movies and especially American Horror Story hahahaha.**

**To explain Yami Marik's and Jesara's encounter a bit more: In the anime Yami Marik enjoys the pain and fear of others. I wanted to add the detail that other's fear is some kind of nourishment for him. That's also the meaning behind the phrase „bring the shadows to you instead" and „used me like an energy drink." And that's the reason for this chapters title :P „Fear For Breakfast".**

**MUSIC RECOMMENDATIONS **

**The whole story & plot is mostly inspired by various tracks I listen to while writing. I already put two songs into the story :-) The scene between Ishizu and Jesara was mostly inspired by „Breaking Me Down" by Escape the Fate. (I love them and their lyrics!) You should also listen to „Gorgeous Nightmare" from the same band :-) The track fits perfectly for Marik & my OC's relationship until now.**

**I hope you enjoyed this (quite dark) chapter! Please leave a review, I'd love to have your thoughts!**


	15. Chapter 15: Deceitful Hopes

**AN: Update Time! Wuhu! And I need to apologise that this chapter might not be my best. I guess I had some kind of a writers block and you already know that I hate writing duels, but some of them are necessary.**

**I'm so glad that I'm completely recovered from my hangover haha But hey! WE WON! YES! I'm so flattered and so happy! So we had something big to celebrate this weekend :P So, sorry that I let you wait.**

**Thanks for the latest reviews and followers! I'm so happy you liked OMR so far!**

**Enjoy chapter 15!**

* * *

**Chapter XV**

**Deceitful Hopes**

„Joey!" Jesara cried out loud as she stepped out of the elevator on the top of Kaiba's duel tower. „Why did you do that!? You know how dangerous it could be!"

Yami Marik and Joey already positioned themselves on the dueling platform and started to shuffle their decks as Jesara's warning interrupted them. Her blonde friend just looked at her over his shoulder and grinned sheepishly. „I told you that I'll make him pay for what he's done to you, Jess! And I can't let him take over the world, you know."

Marik's alter ego just rolled his eyes at Joey's statement and put on his signature smirk. His exorbitant self-confidence seemed to amuse the demonic entity.

„That's too dangerous to play the hero, Joey! What if he makes it a shadow game again like he did in the duel with me!?" She urged again although she knew that her friend was way too stubborn to listen to her warnings.

„Don't worry, I'll make it!" Joey reassured and blinked an eye at her. By this Jesara knew it was to no avail to warn him, he was determined to duel and win against Yami Marik. There was nothing she could say to make him stop putting his life at risk.

„Jess, I'm certain that Joey knows what he does." Yami said from beside her and gave her an assuring glance. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, but his expression still held a touch of concernment.

„I hope you're right, pharaoh…" Jesara muttered with worry in her tone.

„I'm glad to see you here to cheer me on, my dear Jesara." Yami Marik chuckled down at her. „I promise you to make this short and crisp so that the both of us can come back to where we stopped earlier, sweetheart."

Jesara let out a growl at Yami Marik's venomous words and clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms and her knuckled went white from the pressure. „You are disgusting." She murmured while looking away from his ghosty blank eyes. A shiver shot through her body as she thought back to their encounter in the morning and how his breath felt on her neck when he smirked in amusement and how he enjoyed her physical and mental pain. The way he forced himself on her made her sick. It was so surreal that this body was the same she hugged and kissed less than 24 hours ago.

Roland declared the official beginning of the duel and it was Yami Marik to make the first turn. After drawing his cards he summoned a steel-armored machine like warrior, Gil Garth, in attack position (1800/1200) and placed one card face down on the field before he ended his turn.

Joey put on his poker face and summoned his beloved Alligator Sword (1500/1200) in defense mode and also set a card face down. "Just in case you didn't know yet, but I was dead serious when I said I'll make you pay for what you did to my friends, you shitface!" Joey yelled from at the spike-haired egyptian in front of him.

"I can't wait to see that, little Joey. But let me give you a little advice. Save this words for the moment when you're not playing on defense!" Yami Marik teased back and draw his next card. "I think it's time to bring this duel to the next level, Wheeler."

Yami Marik grabbed the millennium rod from behind his back and pointed it towards Joey, who raised a curious brow at him. The blonde knew well enough what was coming next. Within seconds the whole top of the duelling tower was covered by the same dark void like in Jesara's duel against Marik's alter ego. He called for the shadows; from now on they were fighting a shadow game and the loser will be doomed to spend the eternity here. Joey's soul was in great danger now.

"Welcome to the shadow realm, little Joey. I'm sure that you're already acquainted with the rules." Yami Marik explained and smirked evilly at the blonde in front of him. Joey stared daggers at him, but tried to keep cool. Joey Wheeler wasn't the type of guy to show his fear towards his opponents.

"Yes yes, nothing new! Stop playing with that stupid magic stick and make your turn!" Joey spat angrily.

"Tststs" Yami Marik taunted and wagged his index finger at Joey. "This shadow game is a bit different from the one my dear wife and I fought yesterday. I decided to spice things up a bit." Suddenly a violet glowing lace that connected his monster Gil Garth with his chest appeared on the field. The same violet lace linked Joey with his Alligator Sword. Joey eyed it with a staggered expression on his face.

"Everytime one of our monsters get destroyed we're losing vital energy, little Joey. Your Alligator Sword is connected to your body through a thread of life." He explained in evil amusement and attached the millennium rod back to his belt. It was his turn and so he drew his next card. "I'm calling Drillago in attack position (1600/1100) and command it to destroy your Alligator Sword!"

With a jolt Yami Marik's new monster rushed forward towards Joey's creature and sliced it into two before it shattered to pieces. Joey cringed in pain as the thread of life between his monster and his body yanked from the attack of Drillago. The blonde placed his hand over the spot on his chest where the thread used to be just a second ago.

"Joey!" Yami shouted at his friend from beside the platform. "Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine." Joey muttered in pain. "It takes more to get a Wheeler down."

Yami Marik chuckled evilly as he looked at his blonde opponent. "I'm afraid that I'm not finished yet, little Joey! My Gil Garth will attack you directly and wipe away a big amount of your life points! Hahahaha."

The steel-armoured monster rushed forward and raised its katana sword, but before it was able to harm Joey the blonde activated his face-down card. "Not so hasty, you freak! I activate my spell card Scapegoat to block your attack! My four sheep tokens will protect me from your attack!"

Instead of being attacked directly one of his tokens (0/0) got destroyed. But Joey's little trick didn't impress the devilish smirking Yami Marik at all. "Well done, little Joey. But that was nothing more than luck." He grinned diabolical and ended his turn.

"Please be careful, Joey!" Jesara exclaimed at her friend in concernment. "You don't know with what kind of dark magic you're dealing with! You can beat him - I believe in you - but please don't be reckless!"

"Oh my little Jesara, you should better cheer on your beloved husband, shouldn't you?" Yami Marik taunted sarcastically and smirked down at her. She narrowed her eyes dangerously at him.

"You're not my _husband! _You're nothing more than a maniac parasite!" She spat back at him and cringed her fists beside her hips. Every word he said made her furious. How could he dare to think that he's got some kind of claim to her.

"You _are_ mine, sweetheart. And you will accept that sooner or later." He teased her again. It made Jesara sick that it was senseless to insult him in any way. He would always answer with his annoying devilish grin and another threat.

"Don't let him get to you, Jess!" Tea tried to calm her and placed her hand on Jesara's shoulder. "He wants to vex you and to make you angry! You're better than him."

Jesara sighed and nodded at her brunette friend; she was right. Yami Marik enjoyed to threat and tease her to the bone. _'How could someone so kind create something so evil…?'_ She thought to herself as her gaze drifted back to Yami Marik on the platform.

"Enough, Marik!" Joey cut in and drew another card. "Stop teasing her and let's carry on with our duel! I'd rather kick your ass sooner than later! I summon my Panther Warrior in attack position (2000/1600) and since my monster needs a sacrifice to attack you I tribute one of my super sweet sheep tokens and send your Gil Garth to the graveyard, you jerk! Time for a payback!"

Joey's Panther Warrior made short work of Yami Marik's monster. When Gil Garth shattered into thousands of pieces and the thread that connected it to its owner yanked Yami Marik let out a painful groan. But the groan immediately turned back into a chuckle. His tanned hand was placed in his chest as he grinned at the blonde teen. Yami Marik's life points dropped from 4000 down to 3800. Joey grinned cheeky at him and was proud that he has destroyed his strongest monster in the field.

"Did you forget that I was born from my weaker half's pain? This is just child play for me, little Joey." Yami Marik sneered and drew his next card. "I play Tribute Burial and remove my Gil Garth and your Alligator Sword from our graveyards from play. And so I can summon my Helpoemer (2000/1400) without sacrificing any other monster. And I also play a card face-down and pass the turn to you. Try to impress me, little Joey."

The blonde growled at his vexing words before he drew a new card. He eyed the cards in his hands carefully and thought about what to do next. Joey was sure that Yami Marik's Helpoemer had some kind of secret effect and that attacking him was probably was exactly what his opponent wanted him to do.

xx

About 20 minutes later the duel still went on. Yami Marik had 2100 life points left at that point of the game, Joey had 2900 remaining. The blonde was still confident to succeed in beating Marik's alter ego in the shadow game. Jesara and the others watched their duel carefully, but something told her that the worst was yet to come. Yami Marik was full of evil surprises. Marik has always played with dirty tricks against the pharaoh and her friends, so why should his evil side be any better?

_'I wish I would have been good enough to beat him when I had the chance…'_ Jesara thought to herself.

Yami Marik has activated several trap cards which had the power to wipe out a few of Joey's life points with each turn he made. The gang could read from his face that his opponents trap cards gave him a hard fight.

Joey drew his next card and as he looked at it a confident grin was plastered on his face. "Now I'm turning the tables, you jerk! I activate my spell card Question!"

As the card appeared in front of Joey Yami Marik's gaze grew darker, this seemed to go against his dirty strategy for the duel. Jesara's face was met by a smile too; she knew what Joey was about to intend with playing this card. Because of Marik's Helpoemer on Joey's graveyard he lost one card of his hand randomly and had to send it to the graveyard. Joey had found a way to use Yami Marik's dirty tricks against him.

"Let me explain my spell card's effect to you, you spike haired jerk-lord! Now you have to guess the first of my monsters that was sent to the graveyard. If you're right this monster will be removed from the duel, but if you're guessing wrong I'm allowed to special summon this monster!" Joey explained in poise and grinned sovereign at his opponent who let out a vexed growl.

"That's awesome!" Jesara said out loud. "Marik has no chance to guess the right monster, because he never saw it!" A bright smile crossed her tanned face, after a bad start for Joey he was turning the tables for his advantages. "Great turn, Joey!"

Yami Marik said nothing, but narrowed his eyes to slits as he tried to think back to the first of Joey's monsters he's sent to the graveyard. But Jesara was right, it was impossible to know which monster it was. Because of Helpoemer's special effect he never saw it.

"Fine! I'll take that for a wrong answer! That means that I can special summon it! Please welcome my Jinzo (2400/1500) with an applause!" Joey cheered and special summoned his beloved Jinzo from his graveyard.

"No! Not Jinzo!" Yami Marik cried out when the big creature came to life on Joey's side of the field. Since he had three cards face-down on the field his strategy was determined to fail, because of Jinzo's special effect to unable all trap cards on the field. His Rocket Warrior was now released from Yami Marik's "Nightmare Wheel" and switched his Baby Dragon and Panther Warrior back to attack position. He was now in control of 4 monsters, while his opponent just had his Legendary Fiend in play to protect him.

"And now I command my Jinzo to kick your Legendary Fiend's butt!" Joey commanded and his Jinzo immediately destroyed Yami Marik's monster. With that his life points dropped down to 1900. "Now you have no more monsters on the field to protect you! My three other monsters can attack you directly easily!"

Joey's monsters prepared for their direct attack, but then an evil smirk returned to Yami Marik's face; he still had one card face-down. "Not so hasty, little Joey! I activate Dark Wall Of Wind! This spell card protects me from any damage from direct attacks for one turn!"

"No! He almost beat him! He was so close!" Jesara cried in dismay. Yami Marik smirked down to her evilly at her words.

"Did you really think little Joey could beat me so easily, my sweetheart?" He teased as he grinned in amusement at her. "And to be honest it would be a pity if we wouldn't have the chance for another little date." His words made her tremble again; but not because of fear - this time it was anger and hatred that overwhelmed her. She growled slightly and clenched her hands to fists beside her hips.

"That hate looks breathtaking on you, my dear." He taunted again. It amused him to provoke her and within seconds she felt used by him again. He didn't even need to touch or harass her physically. Jesara decided to say nothing in return and cover her unease as good as possible, she didn't want to give him what he wanted.

Within the next turns Yami Marik special summoned Lava Golem (3000/2500) to Joey's some of the field by sacrificing Joey's Jinzo and Baby Dragon. The monster had the special effect to wipe away 700 of Joey's life points. Because of Yami Marik's dirty strategy Joey's life points dropped from 2900 down to 2200.

Although it seemed like Yami Marik was in control again Joey managed to tribute his two remaining monsters Panther Warrior and Rocket Warrior such as Yami Marik's Lava Golem to summon his powerful Gilford the Lightning (2800/1400) in attack position. Thanks to Gilford's special effect he destroyed every single of Yami Marik's monsters, leaving him without any protection. But when Joey tried to attack his opponent directly he negated it with his face-down card "Nightmare Mirror", which also caused that Joey lost another 1000 life points. (1200)

"That was too sweet, Joey!" Yami Marik taunted from across the field and chuckled at the failed attack of his opponent. "But you won't win this duel! Hahahaaha"

"Stop talking and make your turn!" Joey spat back and waited for Yami Marik to draw his next card. It annoyed him to the bone that he again was so close to defeat Yami Marik - close, but not close enough.

Suddenly Yami Marik broke out into laughter as he looked at the card he has just drawn from his deck. This diabolical laughter meant nothing good. Yami and the gang became more and more concerned about what was coming next.

"This duel is almost over, little Joey!" He chuckled evilly and placed the card into a slot of his duel disk. "In case you didn't know, but a few turns earlier I've discarded my Winged Dragon of Ra to the graveyard. And by activating Monster Reborn I'll bring my ancient creature back on the field! It's over, little Joey!"

Everyone gasped in shock at his words. Again flames appeared behind Yami Marik and then a familiar golden dragon rose from them. The moment when Ra attacked and injured her; the way the inferno burned on her skin, crossed her mind again. By looking at the enormous dragon on Yami Marik's side she started to worry about Joey's health. He was in great danger now. And since Marik's alter ego made this duel a shadow game it was much worse and more dangerous.

Joey's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the golden Egyptian god.

"But Ra get it's attack points from the monsters that were sacrificed to summon it! That means Ra has no attack points!" Yami shouted at Joey to calm him down a bit. "Ra isn't a danger for you, Joey!"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, pharaoh." Yami Marik cut in and chuckled in amusement. "Ra has some secret abilities that will help me to end this duel now."

Jesara raised a brow in curiosity; what was he talking about? Since Marik managed to steal the card from Ishizu's hiding place he studied this card well and detailed. But he would have told her about more secret effects of The Winged Dragon of Ra. Or was it possible that his alter ego knew more than himself?

"I will now transform Ra into the Egyptian god Phoenix, little Joey!" Yami Marik explained ginning diabolically as Ra started to transform into a burning creature that had a similar silhouette like a falcon. But Joey tried to keep his poker face in place.

"And why should I fear an oversized grilled chicken!? It still has zero attack points!" Joey teased cooly at his opponent.

"It's a pleasure to explain it to you, little Joey. First of all I pay 1000 life points to activate Ra's second special effect to attack and destroy your Gilford The Lightning immediately." Yami Marik explained as the phoenix attacked Joey's monster with a burst of fire. Because of the thread of life that connected Joey with Gilford the blonde lost vital energy again. He bowed in pain when Gilford shattered into pieces. The flames of Ra's attack surrounded Joey; he screamed in pain when the fire was burning around him. Jesara knew this pain, Joey was in trouble.

"Joey!" Serenity cried out when she saw her brother in heavy pain. "Please stop! My brother!"

But Yami Marik just laughed while he enjoyed the pain of his opponent. "Hahahahaahaha! It's over!"

Jesara covered her mouth with her two palms to hold back whimpers as she looked at Joey fighting against the pain, surrounded by flames and heat. She knew this pain too well, but she was lucky that her injuries weren't worse. Hopefully Joey will also have a guardian angel that saves him from critical damage.

When the flames disappeared and Ra vanished from the field a thick haze covered Joey's side of the field. The smoke started to lift slowly. Yami and the gang held their breaths and hoped that Joey was okay.

"Oh my god!" Tea shouted out loud when she saw Joey's silhouette in the smoke. "He's still standing!"

"Joey! Are you okay!?" Yami cried out and wished he could go up there and help his best friend.

Yami Marik's eyes were wide, he didn't expect Joey to stand Ra's destructive attack. His plan was to break Joey's will and take away all of his energy. But Joey was stronger, although the blonde had a hard time to keep standing upright.

"No!" Yami Marik spat. "That can't be!"

Jesara smiled slightly in relief to see her friend still standing. Yami Marik had no more monsters on the field to protect himself from a possible attack; he also had no trap or spell cards on the field. _'When he manages to summon a monster now he could attack him directly and beat him… Joey could win this… I hope he's strong enough…'_ She thought to herself and hoped with all her might that Joey was able to do this.

Joey slowly rose his hand, still bowed down slightly and weakened from Ra's attack and drew a card from his deck. His bangs hung into his face and covered his eyes completely, but Yami and the others could make out a slight smile on his face when he looked at his card.

"I summon Gierfried the Iron Knight…" Joey said with a weak voice and placed the card onto his duel disk. Yami Marik's expression grew more and more shocked, sweat covered his forehead. He was close to losing the duel. Jesara folded her hands and prayed for her friend on the platform.

The iron knight appeared from a beam of light on the dark field. Everyone was tense, no one dared to speak a word. Serenity was close to crying.

But then… Joey's legs gave in to the pain and he fell to his knees. He fell down to the ground, Gierfried shattered into millions of pieces when Joey's body hit the ground. He didn't move and didn't respond to his friends cries from beside the platform.

"Joey! No!" Serenity cried, tears fell down her rosy cheeks.

Joey was unconscious and didn't react. Yami Marik stared at him, his horror still present on his face. He has been just inches away from losing everything. Joey could have easily defeated him with Gierfried.

The dark shadows that surrounded them during their duel vanished away, the blue sky and the sun came back to the surface. Yami, Tristan, Tea, Serenity and Jesara climbed onto the duelling platform as fast as possible after Roland declared Yami Marik the winner of the duel.

"Joey! Wake up!" Yami cried and shook him slightly to wake him up - but to no avail. Joey's breath was low, close to not existing. His friends kneeled beside him with watery eyes.

"Joey… please, open your eyes…" Jesara stammered whimpering and stroked his blonde hair. A tear ran down her tanned cheek as she saw his bruises from Ra's attack. "That's all my fault…"

"Hahahaha. Not all, but at least it's your fault to think that you could stop me or my pitiful weaker half, my dear. How could a weak little girl think she could do at least one thing against what's unpreventable? Hahaha." Yami Marik laughed when he passed by. "Don't waste your time to try waking him up, he'll never wake up again. Hahaha."

Jesara started to sob at his words, they hit her deep - sharper than a knife. She felt useless. Also Yami cried when he held Joey in his arms. His best friend fell victim to an insane split personality that wanted to defeat him - not Joey.

"Shut up, you disgusting prick." Jesara muttered and glanced back at Yami Marik over her shoulder while she kneeled beside the injured blonde teen on the ground. He stopped at Jesara's words and also looked back at her from over his shoulder. He smirked at her in amusement.

"Guard your tongue, sweetheart." He chuckled as his blank lavender eyes locked with her watery amber-olive ones. "That's not how you should talk to your husband, my dear."

He did it again, he provoked her. Did he want to find another breaking point with bringing um this special topic again and again? "How often do I have to tell you that you're not my husband or anything comparable!?" Jesara spat back as she got up to her feet and turned to face him. Tea tried to hold her back before this situation was about to escalate, but to no avail.

"Hahahaha. Oh my sweet Jesara…" Yami Marik grinned and turned half way around to look at the light grey haired girl who dared to stand up against him. But he knew how he could easily hurt her with just a few words. "Well, I'm afraid that you're wrong. You lost our duel and now you have to bear the consequences. Since your precious Marik's soul is almost dead I can force you to do whatever I want whenever I want by using the power of my millennium rod." His grin was demonic, pure evil in every inch of his dark smirk.

Jesara stared at him in melancholy. "Dead?" What did he mean by that? Her heart skipped a beat at this four letter word. „Marik isn't dead… And I will do whatever it takes to bring him back, you creep." The others eyed their conversation attentively while the medical team lifted Joey onto the gurney.

"Almost, my dear. But he will be gone soon enough when I've beaten the pharaoh in the finals. I'm certain that it's already too late for _whatever it takes_, wifey." Yami Marik grinned into her staggered eyes. He could tell from her face that he hit her at a weak point. "Love, sweet love. What an unnecessary thing. But I love how those deceitful hopes torture you." He warbled with wickedness. With that he turned again and walked away, his evil laugh thrilled her.

Jesara was frozen, his words hit her like a sledgehammer. Tea decided to stay by her side; Yami and the others wanted to be with Joey and rushed to the medical room of Kaiba Craft 3. Jesara swallowed hard as a shiver shot down her spine. Because of his venomous words she realised how much she really missed the real Marik that she knew and loved. A single tear ran down her cheek. Suddenly the thought of never seeing him again felt so real.

"Jess… Are you alright…? Don't let his words get to you…" Tea asked softly and as carefully as possible as she offered her sobbing friend a tissue.

"Nothing is alright, Tea…" She paused to wipe away the tear from her cheek with Tea's tissue. „My whole life turned into a nightmare and I feel so responsible for what happened to Joey…"

**/ MEDICAL ROOM**

Joey laid on the bed next to the one where Bakura had laid before he disappeared after his shadow game with Yami Marik. The doctor connected him to the heart monitor and treated him with an oxygen mask since his breath rate was quite low.

Yami and the gang stood around his bed and stared at him in concernment. They still didn't believe that their beloved friend fell victim to the freak. As Jesara and Tea entered the medical room they looked at the blonde in dismay.

"Will my brother be okay?" Serenity asked with a hoarse voice and looked at Kaiba's doctor, hoping that he would say that her brother will be fine.

"His condition is critical. But I'll do my best to help him." The doctor said and tried to calm Serenity a bit. He looked back at the two girls as he heard them enter the room. "Miss Ishtar, didn't I tell you to rest? I was searching for you the whole day!"

"I'm fine, sorry doctor. I think that Joey needs your help more than me now. Please, help him…" Jesara answered and again felt the unease when he called her by her real surname.

"Doc, when can we bring Joey to a real hospital?" Tristan asked insistently. Before the doctor was able to say anything in return the door slid open again. It was Mokuba and his expression meant nothing good.

"I'm sorry to tell you that…" The little Kaiba said in a worried tone. "But Seto said that we won't interrupt the tournament. But I ordered a helicopter to bring Joey back to Domino and into the hospital."

Yami let out a growl. "Kaiba… Joey's hurt and all he thinks of is his stupid tournament. When will the helicopter arrive here?"

"Probably in about an hour or so." Mokuba replied.

"I'm sure that Joey will recover completely, but he really needs intensive care." The doctor said and scribbled something on his clipboard. „I'll do my best to treat him while we wait for the medical emergency team."

Serenity sat beside her brother on the bed and sobbed heavily, her anxiety about her brother made her sick. Jesara felt so sorry for her and she still blamed Joey's condition on herself - she failed in helping Marik. And Yami Marik's words from earlier had hit her harder than she thought words could hurt. She placed her hand on Serenity's shoulder.

„Pharaoh…" Jesara said and shot him a sad glance. „I'm so sorry for everything. When there's something I can do to help you please let me know…"

Yami said nothing, but nodded at her with a serious and confident expression.

„The next duel of the Battle City finals is starting in 10 minutes! Seto Kaiba is going against Yugi Muto! Please proceed to the top of the duel tower!" Roland's professional voice came through the intercom system.

"This unsympathetic rich egoist really continues with his stupid tournament while Joey really needs to be brought to a real hospital! Sorry Mokuba, but your brother is a careless jerk!" Duke grumbled after Roland's announcement about the upcoming duel. Mokuba replied with a sad glance at the black-haired teen with the piercing green eyes, but they could tell from the little boys face that he shared their opinion about his brother at least a little bit.

"I'll make this short and try to be back as soon as possible…" Yami said with seriousness in his tone as he turned towards the room's exit.

"I'll stay here with Joey and have an eye in him." Tea said while her eyes were resting on her unconscious friend on the bed. Tristan and Duke nodded in agreement; so did Serenity. "Good look, we count on you!"

"Good luck, pharaoh… I know you will make it." Jesara said softly; her hand still rested on Serenity's shoulder to comfort her. She loved her big brother more than anything else.

Yami nodded at them; they've never seen such poise in his gaze before. He will win his duel against Kaiba, they knew it. It won't be easy and but the worst was yet to come. Silence filled the room after the doors slid shut behind Yami. Just the beeping sounds of the heart monitor and medical computers echoed in the room. It was nerve-wrecking to see their beloved friend like that.

xx

Fifteen minutes went by and the gang sat in the medical room to watch over Joey while Yami had to face Kaiba in the duel. As they looked outside the window to the CEO's duel tower they saw a large colosseum covering the bottom area of the building.

Jesara rolled her eyes at what she saw outside. "Seriously?" She sighed in annoyance and rubbed her templed with her index and middle finger.

"Maybe he's trying to compensate something, huh?" Tristan shrugged his shoulders and rubbed the back of his head as he glanced outside the window. "I knew that Kaiba's a weirdo; but know it's a official that he's much worse…"

"I hope Yugi wins that duel…" Tea sighed and sat down again beside Joey.

"He will, it's his destiny to win and save the world… We have to keep on hoping." Jesara said and felt a bit awkward by saying this; she almost sounded like Ishizu. She thought back to Yami Marik's words from earlier. _'But I love how those deceitful hopes torture you.'_ Deceitful hopes… His words tied up her mind.

"Guys, I need to fresh myself up a bit. I'll be back in 5 minutes… if you don't mind." Jesara said and made a few steps towards the exit of the medical room. "Does anyone want a coffee or tea? I can stop by the kitchen and grab some?" She asked kindly, maybe she could cheer her friends up at least a tiny bit in this awful situation. But they all shook their heads at her but thanked her that she asked.

As Jesara left the room she headed down the hallway and hoped intensely not to come across Marik's alter ego on the way to her room. She was lucky, he was nowhere to be seen - probably he was watching the duel between the pharaoh and Mr. Rich & Famous.

Her heart skipped a beat as the doors of her room slid open and she stared into blue, blank eyes that were almost expressionless. They belonged to a tall guy who was wearing a turban and a traditional Egyptian attire. The stranger wore a big Egyptian ankh on a necklace around his neck. Jesara heard about this item before. Could this really be the millennium key?

The room-doors closed behind Jesara, her puzzled eyes still locked with the stranger's ones.

"W-Who are you?" She whispered while her heart bumped a million miles a minute. Was she supposed to fear the unknown man that stood in her room? How did he get in here? His expression was still unreadable and clinical as he introduced himself to her.

"My name is Shadi."

* * *

**AN: Yes, another cliffhanger! Sorry for that! :P But I have a great plan for chapter 16!**

**It's so awkward that OMR is already coming to an end. I guess the story will end up with about 19 chapters, maybe 18. Let's see :-) I created a poll on my profile and I really would like to know if you'd like a Sequel or Prequel to this story? Since Marik & Jesara have a quite intense past before Battle City I guess a Prequel would be a good idea, but a Sequel is also tempting :P**

**I would also love to have your reviews and I'm so thankful for every single one! :-)**


	16. Chapter 16: Prisoner Of My Own

**AN: Chapter 16 is up! It's getting weird and emotional at the same time, just to say. And it's very different from the last chapters. Chapter 16 is the cornerstone of the ending of OMR. Yeah… we're coming closer and closer to the grande finale.**

**Just to make you prepared: CH16 is kitschy AF and as well dirty AF at the same time. Hrhrhr, I loved writing it. It's so lovely and so evil. And by the way: It's weird…very very weird. Hahaha. Just like me.**

**Well then, I hope you enjoy reading! :-) If there's something unclear to you feel free to PM me.**

* * *

**Chapter XVI**

**Prisoner Of My Own**

"Shadi?" Jesara asked curiously and stared at the stranger in the traditional egyptian attire. His expression was still emotionless and she wasn't sure if she had to fear him or not.

"The struggle you are fighting with yourself is the reason for my visit. The world is in great danger and it's important that you get a clue about the affairs of your heart. Ishizu said the truth about your crucial role to save Marik from the shadows and help the pharaoh to win this battle. But a lot of thoughts stand in your hearts way." Shadi said with wiseness in every single world. He was an old soul and seemed to know more about her emotional world than her. But how?

"I don't understand…" She muttered and still had no idea what the stranger could possibly do to _help_ her or Marik. He took three calculated steps towards her.

"I will help you to understand, Jesara." Shadi said firmly as his hand grabbed the golden ankh that hung in front of his chest. "The millennium key allows me to walk through your soul and I invite you to come with me."

Jesara raised an eyebrow curiously at his words. "So it's true. That's the millennium key. What do you expect to find in my mind?"

"Hopefully the solution for your inner fight." He said expressionless and lifted the golden ankh up to her forehead. She cringed slightly when the cold material touched her skin, but within seconds her vision got blurry. Suddenly she was surrounded by nothing but light.

**xx**

She opened her eyes slowly after the blinding light had vanished and inspected her new surroundings with utter confusion. Where was she? Jesara found herself in a long corridor which walls were made of crimson red brick stones. A shiver shot through her body when she felt the coldness of this place on her tanned skin. "Where am I?" She asked herself when she turned around. Her amber-olive eyes met Shadi's ghosty blue ones again; she didn't expect to see him here in god-knows-where.

"We are inside your soul and mind. Follow me." He said and started to walk down the corridor. Jesara stared at Shadi's back in puzzlement, hesitating to follow in his path. _'Inside my soul?'_ Was this really happening or was it just another nightmare she found herself caught in?

"Wait!" She cried out loud and Shadi stopped his pace. He looked back at her over his shoulder with his expressionless blank eyes. "Where are you going!?"

"Follow me, Jesara. You will see soon enough." Shadi said in reply and continued walking down the crimson red corridors which obviously were part of Jesara's soul. She hesitated for a split second, but then she decided to do how he said.

Their walk felt like it was an eternity. They turned left, then right, left again, staircase down, staircase up - where was he leading her? Jesara was about 3 steps behind the stranger all the time that somehow took her for a walk in her mind. This situation was weird… very weird. And she still didn't get the sense of what this was all about. What was he expecting to find in her mind?

After another few turns and staircases the corridor became darker; it was hard to see what was in front of them when Shadi came to a halt. "We reached what we were looking for."

Jesara blinked at him in confusion. "Could you be a bit more precise? Where are we?" There was nothing but darkness in front of them - just like their way faded into a blank space. Fear became more and more sensible the longer she stared into the nothing.

Suddenly a bright light enhanced from the millennium key to enlighten the black nothing in front of them. Jesara's eyes widened at what she saw when the light made visible what was hidden in the darkness. The corridor was barricaded by rocks of various sizes and shapes; it looked like it collapsed a long time ago. But why did Shadi lead her to a dead end? Instead of getting a better clue about 'herself' like Shadi said she was just more confused than before right now.

"We reached the room of your heart." Shadi explained as he gazed at her over his shoulder.

"Room of my heart?" She repeated his words in disbelief. "But there's just a barricade ahead, Shadi. I can't see a door or something like that."

"That's because you decided to seal it a long time ago." Shadi said and turned around to face the young girl. "What you seek and what you need to help Marik to beat his demons is buried under those stones of your soul. You decided to lock this door in the deepest corner of your soul. It's time to unlock it… That's why I brought you here."

"I doubt that it's that easy to help Marik with just unlocking a buried door." Jesara said, still not believing the stranger. She raised an eyebrow in doubt at him.

"May I ask you a question?" His blank blue eyes stared into hers. "What do you feel for him?"

Jesara shot him a surprised glance. "I- I'm not sure." She sighed and looked down to the crimson red brick floor underneath her feet.

"That's why you should see what's inside that door." He said and then turned his back towards her to kneel down. Shadi started to remove one stone after the other. Whatever was behind that door, now she was curious about it more than ever. Without hesitating she grabbed the first rock and lifted it to the side - and the next one, then another one.

After a long time that felt like ages Jesara removed the last rock. The door which Shadi talked about came to the surface. Since he said it was the 'room of her heart' she expected it to be more special, but it was just an ordinary wooden door that looked a bit outdated. Unloved. Unwanted.

"That doesn't look like what I expected…" Jesara stammered out of breath. She had a hard time with removing the heavy rocks one by one.

"Open it and see what you tried to seal away. That's the key to what Ishizu and Odion told you." Shadi said and took a calculated step back from the door. He gestured Jesara that it was time to open it. She could feel her heart beating up to her throat. What will she have to face when she walked through that door? Jesara drew closer to it and reached out her hand for the doorknob when Shadi interrupted her.

"Jesara." He said firm. Her fingers were just inches away from the knob.

"Huh? Yes?" She glanced back at him over her shoulder, curious about what he had to say before she opened that door.

"The heart works different from the brain."

Jesara stared at him with staggered eyes. She heard this words before from Ishizu. It's getting weirder and weirder. Why do they say that again and again? Without saying anything in return she pushed the door open.

She was blinded by radiant light but she kept on making one cautious step after the other. When the light faded she saw that she walked on a floor covered with lotus and white frangipani petals. As she glanced up she found herself in a scene of her childhood when she was just at the age of eleven. It was a memory she tried to forget for so long.

A small girl with long ebony black hair and amber-olive eyes stood in front of her, dressed in a traditional egyptian ceremonial dress. A wonderful golden headpiece adorned her forehead, just like Marik used to wear it in his early teen years. Jesara gasped; it was a younger version of herself. The young Jesara stood in front of a young boy with sandy blonde hair that were at shoulders length; his eyes had an astonishing shade of pale lavender and he also wore a traditional ceremonial attire and a similar golden headpiece. She always loved this special piece of jewellery on him.

Jesara's palm met her mouth. She just walked into the memory of the day she got married to Marik when they were just kids - not really knowing what they were doing. This was her room of heart? The young versions of her and Marik couldn't see or hear her, Jesara was just like a ghost in her own long forgotten memory.

"In the name of the Ishtar clan and with the help of the ancient gods I wive you. From this day forward you'll never walk alone." The young Marik read out aloud from a tiny piece of papyrus in his left hand while the other one held her younger selfs one. "I promise to never hurt or harm you and to always stay by your side."

She remembered how she felt in this moment, how her cheeks blushed slightly at this ancient vow that left his lips on the day she became a Ishtar - she was happy.

"In the name of the Ishtar clan and Jendayi clan, with the help of the ancient gods I take you as my man." Her younger selfs hands trembled in flutter as she read out loud the same text from a little piece of papyrus. "From this day forward you will never walk alone. I promise to never hurt you, to support you with all of your plans and to never leave your side."

_'__We both broke our promises…'_ Jesara said to herself in dismay as she watched the scene from her past and how the kids smiled sheepishly at each other. They were just kids and had actually no idea what they were doing right now; not sure about the purpose of the knot they tied. What this bond really meant wasn't of their concern, at least Jesara knew that their words were honest.

The scene faded, her surroundings blurred into a beautiful mixture of various colours before another scene from her past appeared in front of her. It was a memory from the time when she and Marik had already left the tomb. He already founded the organisation of the Rare Hunters. At this time Marik was about 15 years old, not a boy and not yet a man - but already the leader of a criminal organisation that sold rare cards to high prices at the international black market and earning millions.

Jesara could sense every feeling she had for Marik at this time of her life. The good and the bad ones. At this time of their life they already confessed that they had strong feeling for each other; and although Marik's change of mind wasn't easy to deal with she fell for him with every inch of her body.

She found herself in Marik's quarters of their former home, the headquarter of the Rare Hunters near Cairo. The young version of Marik sat on his desk made from finest dark wood, but immediately stood up from where he sat when somebody knocked on the door. He looked nervous as he stared through Jesara to the door like she was a ghost. Then her younger self opened it slowly and stepped into the room.

"You wanted to see me?" The young Jesara asked curiously but smiling as she made a few more steps towards him. She wore the typical deep purple cloak that everybody of Marik's organisation used to wear. The only difference was that she used to accentuate her it with a golden belt around her waist to add some kind of female silhouette to the attire.

"Yes." He nodded at her and gestured that he wanted her to come closer. She did as he wanted, still not sure if he had a good or a bad day so far. Since he got initiated as a tomb keeper his many bad days overshadowed his less good ones.

"Do you know what day it is?" The younger Marik asked with softness in his tone and gaze. Probably it was one of his better days.

Her younger self stared at him thinking, but then shook her head at his question. "No… I guess not. I'm sorry."

He cracked a slight smile at the young Jesara who just reached to his chin at that time. "It's our anniversary… if you want to call it that."

"Ah…" The young Jesara said in surprise. He was right, it was the day of their 'anniversary'. "Sorry that I forgot about it. Well, then… happy anniversary." She smiled slightly embarrassed to have forgotten it.

Jesara thought back to those days before she decided to leave, the feelings they shared although his once warm heart was cooled down. On some days he treated her like one of his slaves, on other ones they got closer to each other and he opened up his heart. They had their ups and downs, but at this time of her life there was nothing that could possibly break the bond that connected them.

"I have something for you." The young Marik said and dug deep into the pockets of his deep purple cloak. It was a small jewellery case covered with velvet in a dark crimson shade. Her younger self blinked in surprise as he took it out of his pockets and opened it for her soo see what was inside. Two astonishing beautiful earrings in the shape of an ankh sparkled in it; they seemed to be made from pure gold and possibly they have cost a little fortune. "It's a present. I thought they would look great on you."

The young Jesara was lost for words as she stared at the beautiful piece of jewellery. She always loved the ancient ankh symbol; it had so many meanings and it was believed that it is some kind of a sign of good look, life and love in ancient egypt.

"Do you want to try them on? I'd love to see how they look on you." Marik asked smiling slightly. She nodded at him and nibbled her bottom lip in excitement. Showing his handsome side and feelings was a rare thing to see.

Marik helped her to put them on and attach them to her earlobes gently; as he did so he stroked her tanned, slightly blushed cheeks with his thumbs. "Perfect." He whispered in a tone that was like honey to her soul.

Her younger selfs gaze drifted over to a golden framed mirror beside them. She looked at her reflection and shifted her head from side to side, the golden earrings jiggled elegantly beside her jawline. A bright smile crossed her face; they were just beautiful.

"T-thank you. They are breathtaking." She stuttered shyly as she looked back into his lavender irises.

"Just like you." He said under his breath as his thumb and index finger gently touched her chin and lifted it up a bit more to his face. At this her cheeks turned into the colour of a beetroot. "I wanted you to know that you're my anchor in life. You are the only good that happened to me in my life as a tomb keeper, Jesara. I love you."

Their faces were just inches away from each other. Jesara watched the scene from a corner of the room with watery eyes as her memories and old feelings overwhelmed her. She tried so hard to forget how happy she was and how hard she tried to lock those emotions in the darkest corner of her heart. Warmth filled her chest that heated up her heart that was bumping so hard and loud it echoed in her ears.

Jesara watched how Marik pulled her younger self closer to him and placed his lips into hers to kiss her. A tear ran down her cheek as the scene blurred again, although she felt like crying a thankful smile sat on her lips. _'Oh Marik, how could everything fall apart like that so easily?' _She thought to herself while her surrounding turned into something else again. Now it was just a empty room which walls were made of the same crimson coloured brick stones like the endless corridors she had to walk as she followed Shadi before.

"Because you wanted to hate him with all your might." A young female voice said behind her. Jesara was startled and turned around, but she gasped as she looked into amber-olive eyes - her own eyes. Her younger self stood directly in front of her, eying her intensively with a soft smile on her face. She held a small suitcase in her right hand and an airline ticket in the other one.

"W-what? You can see me? B-but how…?" Jesara was lost for words, why could she be seen by her own demons that tortured her mind and heart for so long? Until now she just was like a ghost in her own memories.

"Jess…" Her younger self said softly. "A wise man once said that forgiving is like setting free a prisoner and to discover that the prisoner was you. Forgiving is a decision of your heart. It's time to break free - for Marik's sake and for you."

"I- I don't get what you mean by that…" Jesara stuttered in puzzlement.

"What you sought has always been so close. And the proof for it hangs around your neck… in front of your heart." Her younger self smiled at her in wiseness and with that everything turned white again. She squinted her eyes to protect herself from being blinded by the brightness of the light that surrounded her again.

Jesara inhaled deeply as her eyes shot open again as like she just awoke from a nightmare. She was back - back in her room of Kaiba Craft 3 - back in the reality. The stranger was gone and nowhere to be seen. It took her a second to let sink in what just happened. Did she just have a talk to herself in the darkest corners of her heart?

_'__What you sought has always been so close. And the proof for it hangs around your neck… in front of your heart.' _She tried to recall the incident and her younger selfs words mentally to get a clue about their meaning. _'…in front of your heart.'_

She lifted her hand to lay it onto her upper chest where her heart beat a million miles a minute. She felt something hard under her palm and under the material of her tank top. As Jesara realised what it was she broke out in tears; now her younger selfs words made perfect sense. It was her wedding band that hung on a gold chain in front of her heart. Everything made perfect sense. The stranger called Shadi helped her to help herself by unlocking her mind and heart.

Her younger self was right - she was a prisoner of her own broken mind and hate. The answer has been always within arms reach; she pushed him away while she pulled him closer at the same time. While her fingers gently touched the ring underneath her top she felt guilty that she wasted every chance to tell him what she felt for him because she was too stubborn to see it earlier. Right now she would give her fingertips just to touch him one more time.

All the time she was the biggest problem herself.

**xx**

The door to the medical room slid open as she walked in; Jesara actually had no idea how long she was away to explore the deepest corners of her mind with the stranger and his millennium key. But much to her chagrin all she found was an empty bed and a doctor who was rubbing the back of his head in confusion.

"Doc?" Jesara spoke up behind him. "Where is Joey and the others? Did he wake up?" Jesara was afraid that she probably was away longer than she thought.

"Yes… and I don't know how he could recover completely that fast." The doctor sighed, doubting his own medical knowledge and skills.

"Really!?" Jesara exclaimed in delight his words. "But where did they go?"

"I told him to rest a bit more, but then they all ran off to see the duel of my boss and this Yugi guy." He answered with a shrug. Without saying anything in return Jesara turned on heal and headed out the room and outside the aircraft as she suddenly bumped into her sister-in-law.

"Ishizu!" Jesara exclaimed in surprise. "Do you know where Joey and the others are?"

"I'm afraid not, but…" Ishizu said in a concerned tone and paused to take a deep breath. "Marik, he wants to challenge his dark side again… I'm afraid he's acting too reckless."

Jesara stared at her in puzzlement. "Marik!? B-but how?" Within seconds her stomach turned upside down.

"Marik took control over Tea's body again and said that he's sorry, but he needs to take the consequences. Jesara, I don't know what he's going to do, but you need to stop him before something terrible happens to him!"

"Were did he go?" Jesara asked with horror in her voice.

"He ran off to the duel tower… But I don't know where exactly he is now…" Ishizu muttered with her eyes narrowed to the floor.

"I'll find him…" She stated and sprinted off in the direction of Kaiba's duel tower, not sure what to expect. But at least she was relieved that Marik was strong enough to take over Tea's body to talk to them.

**/ TOP OF THE DUEL TOWER**

Something was wrong with the millennium rod. During Yami's duel with his rival Kaiba in the finals it somehow activated itself and had shown them a something that Yami Marik wasn't able to see. The fact that his millennium item didn't obey him at this particular moment drove him crazy. What could this incidence possibly be about? Was there something he didn't know?

Yami Marik paced impatiently back and forth on the top of Kaiba's duel tower and stared at the golden rod in his hand. No matter how often he commanded the rod to show him the same what it had shown Kaiba and Yugi during their duel it didn't obey him. A deep furious growl left his lips, his blank eyes narrowed dangerously slits as he tossed the rod to the ground in anger. It slid a few meters away from him on the ground before it came to a halt. He turned his back towards the rod and crossed his arms in front of his muscular chest.

"You should treat that item a bit more cautious." A distorted voice said and made Yami Marik turn around in surprise. It was Tea who companied him and lifted the millennium rod from the ground, staring at the wicked guy with blank eyes. "Thank you for making it that easy for me."

Yami Marik wasn't dumb, he knew within a split second that this girl wasn't actually Tea. "Long time no see, Marik." His alter ego said arrogantly with his arms still crossed in front of his chest. "So you control this little girl, huh? I have to admit that I didn't expect that."

"I'm here to get the body back that you took away from me." Marik's words left Tea's lips with confidence; now that he was in control of the millennium rod the tables had turned to his advantage. "And I will send you to where you belong… to the shadows."

"Oh Marik, I guess that are my lines." Yami Marik chuckled evilly.

Marik pointed the millennium rod towards his evil side and made one calculated step after another closer at him. "It's time to end this. You caused enough damage."

"Hahahaha. Damage? I'm just getting the job done that you weren't capable of, my dear Marik." His darker side smirked with sarcastic innocence and shrugged. "You were too weak to fulfil your plans. Hahaha. And you also failed in protecting your precious Jesara."

His words provoked Marik to the bones of Tea's body. A growl left her lips; the millennium rod still pointed on his evil side.

"Stop that!" A familiar female voice yelled. Jesara arrived at the top of Kaiba's duel tower, lucky to find Marik just in time. But she wasn't sure what she could possibly do to prevent Marik from doing something reckless.

"Talk of the devil and his imp appears." Yami Marik chuckled in amusement as he looked at the light haired girl.

Marik cringed as he heard her voice behind him and immediately turned halfway round out of instinct. Their eyes locked for a second; so intensely like they didn't see each other for a lifetime.

"Marik, look out!" Jesara shouted out loud as she saw Yami Marik running up to him and grabbing Tea by the wrist roughly. Within a split second he disarmed Marik and whipped the millennium rod out of his hands. His evil side tackled Marik/Tea so hard that he/she tumbled to the ground. Marik was defenseless again.

„Nice try, nicy try." Yami Marik grinned and forced himself between Jesara and his weaker half lying on the cold steel ground. A startled gasp left Jesara's lips as Yami Marik grabbed her by her light grey hair, dragging her roughly in front of him that her back was faced his chest. She whimpered in pain, trying to squirm out of his tight grasp - but to no avail. He pulled her closer to him so much so that her head laid on his right shoulder, her left cheek touching his skin to skin. Jesara felt the vibrations of his ribcage on her body as he chuckled heavily at this unfortunate twist of fate.

„Release me." Jesara whined in misery as she gave up on trying to break free from his brutal grip in her hair.

„You should know by now that it's senseless to fight back, my dear. I have to admit that you had a perfect timing coming here." Yami Marik sneered and looked over to her from the corner of his deadly blank eyes.

„Let go of her! Jesara has nothing to do with this conflict! Don't you dare to harm her!" Marik commanded, slowly propping himself up from the cold floor. He was seething inside from seeing how roughly he treated her.

Suddenly Jesara felt something cold and sharp pricking her throat, it slowly went from her chin down to her collarbone. Yami Marik had unpacked the millennium rods dagger and ran it slowly over her skin, using enough pressure to prickle and giving her a hurty feeling, but less enough pressure that he didn't cut her. As she felt how the tip of the dagger ran down her throat her heart bumped a million miles a minute. What if he was capable of just cutting her throat?

„Tell me, Marik…" Yami Marik warbled away evilly. „What could you possibly do or say to make me stop?" His words scared almost scared her to death; she felt like a sheep ready for slaughter. Marik tried hard not to make any sudden movement, although he was furious enough to kill. A warning growl escaped Tea's lips. Jesara could tell from her blank, dangerously narrowed eyes that Marik didn't know what he could do to help her without risking her life.

Yami Marik just had his weaker half at the very perfect point to play his evil mind games with him. He was in control over the one thing Marik wanted to protect, just an inch away from taking it away from him forever. Little did he know that Yami Marik's intentions laid elsewhere, killing Jesara wouldn't make any sense for him.

„Don't panic, my dear Marik." He said in false gentleness. „I won't kill my wife."

„She's not _your_ wife." Marik muttered angrily and glared daggers at his alter ego, close to losing it as the demon who possessed his body slightly licked Jesara's cheek with the tip of his tongue. She whimpered again at the disgusting touch.

"Are you really sure?" Yami Marik asked and raised a provoking brow with a smirk. "Let me prove the opposite to you." With that a golden light enhanced from the eye of Anubis at the top of the millennium rod that he slowly withdrew from her throat. Jesara's muscles eased off instantly, her eyes and face turned expressionless and blank as Yami Marik let go of her hair.

His hand slowly ran down her spine while he shot his weaker half a confidently, provoking grin. Marik's darker side knew well enough how to infuriate his victims with minimal effort; having Jesara under the control of the rod was such a thing. She was now totally submissive to Yami Marik's will. So she turned around to her punisher and wrapped her arms around his torso as her emotionless gaze met his grinning face.

Marik narrowed Tea's eyes dangerously as he had to witness how his split personality played with Jesara like she was a marionette. But his blood began to boil as she pulled Yami Marik closer to her and face, pressing her upper body against his and placed her lips on his smirking ones. Marik growled as she tried to hold back his fury, well aware of the fact that it might be senseless. He had to watch how she deepened the kiss more and more, how his alter ego bit her lips playfully, grinning into the kiss as he watched Marik's reaction from the corner of his eyes.

But when Yami Marik's hands drifted down Jesara's lower back Marik couldn't help himself from freaking out. He immediately got up to Tea's feet and rushed forward, but his alter ego instantly rose the millennium rod and sent a shockwave in Marik's direction to strike him down to the ground again. A painful moan escaped Tea's throat as her butt hit the ground at full tilt.

"Hahahahaaha. There's just nothing you can do to stop me, my dear Marik." Yami Marik laughed diabolic, still holding Jesara's submissive body tight to his. "And now it's time for you to go back to the shadows." With that a golden light enhanced from the millennium rod once more and Marik's soul vanished away from Tea's body.

"What is going on here!?" Yami yelled in fury from behind Yami Marik and Jesara. The eye of Anubis appeared on his forehead as like his whole body was filled with energy and power. Yami and the gang arrived right on cue. Their eyes widened in dismay as they saw Jesara cuddling herself against Yami Marik's chest; her mind and body was still under his control.

"What are you doing with Jess and Tea, you disgusting freak!?" Joey shouted and clenched a fist at him. By now Tea regained from being controlled by Marik and blinked in confusion as her eyes scanned the scene she suddenly had awoken in.

"Oh, I was just having a bit of fun, pharaoh." He shot Yami an amused glance.

"Let go of Jess' mind!" Yami commanded with narrowed eyes. The eye of Anubis started to glow with more intensity at his words.

"Hahahaha. I wanted to continue this little date with my wife later either way, but first I'd prefer to send you to the shadows and wrench your power from you, pharaoh." Yami Marik chuckled and released his grip on Jesara's mind just as easy as clicking his fingers. She immediately fell to her knees, her palms met the cold steel ground and her breath was heavy like she just ran a marathon.

Yami Marik then started to walk up to the pharaoh and came to a halt just inches away from him, glaring into is eyes with a provoking smirk. "I can't wait to destroy you, pharaoh." With that he walked away and disappeared into the staircase that led down the duel tower, laughing heavily.

"Jess!" Joey ran up to her and helped her up from the ground while Tristan and Duke helped Tea up to her feet. "What the hell happened?"

"Marik…" She muttered, still out of breath from the influence of the millennium rod. "He tried to challenge his darker side… That's all I remember…" Jesara's gaze drifted over to her friend Tea. Her eyes narrowed down to the ground as she realised Marik was gone again… maybe forever.

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**AN: I hope you liked the kitschy, dirty, very weird little chapter 16. I think it turned out quite well so far. Chapter 17 is already underway and up soon.**

**I'd love to have your reviews and thoughts! So please make sure to leave one :-) I'm very curious about how you liked it and what you think.**

**Happy weekend! :-)**


	17. Chapter 17: Four Letter Word

**AN: Chapter 17 is up! Wuhu, update time! But it's hard to say: there's only one chapter left. OMR will end with the next chapter. I'm already thinking of writing a sequel or prequel to it. What would you like more?**

**Enjoy chapter 17! And thanks to all who reviewed this story so far! Especially to presea221 for her great feedback on every chapter! I really appreciate that!**

**An info for the final duel: I cut in here at turn 9 :-) if some of you want to know.**

* * *

**Chapter XVII**

**Four Letter Word**

The moment of truth drew closer and closer. The pharaoh was able to beat his all-time rival Kaiba in their duel and kicked him out of his own tournament. Now Yami had to face his most dangerous challenge in the final round against Marik's evil side. And the closer the confrontation came, the more anxious Jesara became. What if his dark side was right that her hoping was senseless? And maybe it was her fault that Marik forfeited his last chance to stop his split personality and regain control over his own body earlier. Guilt feelings invaded her mind; maybe things were different now if she didn't interrupt and distracted him as she barged into the situation. With finally having a clue about her long forgotten feelings for him it almost killed her mentally that she didn't have a chance to tell him about it. Jesara felt lost without being lost physically, but now that Marik was possibly gone forever… She had no idea how to describe this feeling, but it hurt.

"Pharaoh…" She muttered as she ran into him and the gang on the corridor of Kaiba Craft 3. "Please help him. I wished that I could have done more to help you… but please, bring him back."

Yami nodded confidently at her words. "I'll give my best… but it won't be easy."

"I know you can, my pharaoh. Your destiny will guide you." Ishizu said wisely and rested her hand on Jesara's shoulder and squeezed it a bit to let her know she wasn't alone right now. "Please, save my brother from his demons."

"I know Yugi can kick his arrogant butt in the final round. He won't get through with that!" Joey reassured them. Again Tea slapped his back of the head because of his uncareful choice of words.

Jesara narrowed her eyes to the ground and let out a sigh. "It's time… You should go now."

"Won't you come with us? I'm sure that you want to…" Tea paused a second to think about the right words to end this sentence. "…be there for him."

"I will, but first I want to have a minute alone with Odion. Please don't wait for me." She answered her brunette friend and forced a reassuring smile. Her gaze then drifted over to Ishizu as like she wanted to tell her that she should join Yugi and the gang right away. Her sister-in-law nodded at her as her hand left Jesara's shoulder.

"Good luck…" She mumbled as they walked away into the direction of the duel tower, leaving her alone with the silence. After letting out another hopeless sigh she turned on heel and entered the room where Odion was still laying in his coma. The room was dark, lights off and silent. Jesara stepped closer to the bed in which he was lying and set down on the chair that was situated beside it.

"Oh Odion…" She whispered, her voice close to breaking into whimpering. "I wish you would wake up and seal Marik's demon away again. You knew about the danger that rested inside of him. You are such a loyal soul…"

She gently took his hand into hers and rested her forehead on them, closing her amber-olive eyes like she was telling a silent pray. "You were right, Odion… You've always been right about what you told me a few days ago. You always knew me better than I do, even through the years of separation. And I was too stubborn to see it; too focused on trying to hate him. If there was anything I could do to get another chance and change what happened…" Jesara sighed heavily and tried to choke back some tears. "I wish you would wake up and give me one of your advices. I really need you now, Odion."

Jesara dug her face into his hand as her gaze drifted over to the window and to the duel tower. The pharaoh was possibly starting his duel against Marik's alter ego right now. A salty tear ran down her cheek and down Odion's wrist. "I hope it's not too late."

She stood up from her seat and walked other to the attached bathroom of the room to wash her tear-stained face. Her cheeks burned and the cold water felt somehow soothing to it. She knew she should get going now and be there for Marik, although he probably was far, far away. Would he even know that she was there?

Before exiting the room she took off her duel disk from her right arm, she won't need it anymore and placed it on the coffee table before her gaze went back to Odion. Jesara focused on him for what felt like an eternity; the latest events have put her in some kind of trance. It felt like she was carrying the weight of a ton on her shoulders.

As she slowly stepped down the stairs that led out of Kaiba Craft 3 she rose her head to look at the duel tower in front of her. Jesara gasped as she saw a familiar dark fog that covered the top area of the steel made tower. _'They're fighting a shadow game again…' _she thought to herself and started to walk into the direction of the tower. Her steps felt like she was walking on shattered glass again; anxiety was now present in every inch of her body.

Also the ride on the elevator to the top floor felt like it lasted for years; by now she had lost every sense of time. Everything she wanted to push away, forget and get rid of forever - him - was now the only thing she felt like she wasn't able to live without.

As the doors slid open she was met by Ishizu's piercing blue eyes which shot her a concerned glance. There was almost no more natural light inside the dark fog of the shadow realm she had just stepped into.

"Hahahaha. I'm glad you came to see how your precious Marik loses his soul to the shadows, my sweet Jesara." A familiar, low voice laughed down at her, just then she lifted her head to see what was going on the duelling platform. Her palm met her mouth as she saw Marik's unconscious body floating beside his evil half; it seemed that he was held by invisible chains. His sandy blonde bangs hung before his head, he looked so weak and almost dead. Jesara's eyes shot wide open in shock at what she saw. Also little Yugi hung up in the air beside his alter ego. Parts of both of their bodies were somehow missing.

"W-What sick game are you playing here!? What are you doing to him!?" Jesara snarled in tears at Marik's evil side. Yami now glanced back at her over his shoulder, his face holding an unreadable expression. Was it a poker face or concernment that was plastered on his gaze?

"Ahh, my dear Jesara…" Yami Marik let out a chuckling sigh. "With every life point I loose my weaker half looses a part of his soul to the darkness of the shadow realm. The same rules affect the little Yugi. Isn't this duel exciting?"

"Please, stop that!" She cried out, her focus still glued to the weak Marik beside him. Big parts of his abdomen, legs and arms were already missing. Jesara felt like somebody ripped out her heart from her chest. "Marik! Can you hear me!? Wake up, please!"

An evilly amused laugh left Yami Marik's throat at her try to speak to his weaker half. "It's chanceless, sweetheart. My pitiful weaker side can't hear you." His blank eyes stared down to her with a smirk. "And if you don't mind I'd like to move forward with my turn and get a step closer to the pharaoh's defeat."

Just then Jesara saw what creatures were fighting against each other in their shadow game. Yami must have had a hard time before she showed up. A huge, silver coloured monster that looked like Obelisk the Tormentor stood tall behind Marik's darker half, while Yami controlled the original Obelisk (4000/4000) in attack position on his side of the field. Did he made an exact copy of an Egyptian god card? Whatever it was, it meant nothing good.

Yami Marik then summoned his signature monster Revival Jam (1500/500) in defense position and activated a spell card. Yami's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw which spell card his opponent played. It was Polymerization.

"Hahaha. I use my Polymerization card to fuse my Egyptian God Slime with my Revival Jam! Now I have an almighty creature that's an egyptian god and a slime monster at the same time. You know what that means, pharaoh! He can't be destroyed!" He explained grinning diabolically as the two monsters united to one. Yami growled at this unlucky twist of the duel and drew his next card.

He then summoned his Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in defense position and commanded his original Obelisk the Tormentor to attack Yami Marik's Egyptian God Slime, but it revived itself right away. Yami Marik used the same strategy against Yami like his weaker half did before, but this time it was worse - much worse.

"Hahahaha. Nice try, pharaoh! But I already told you that my Egyptian God Slime can't be destroyed! Hahaha. That's it, this duel is almost over." He grinned in amusement. Yami glared daggers at him as he drew a card from his deck, but said nothing at his threat. "Now I summon my Bowganian (1300/1000) in defense position. He may be weak, but his special effect will cost you 300 of your life points each turn. Hahahaha."

Jesara watched the duel from her spot beside Ishizu, just some steps away from Joey and the others. Marik's alter ego used every possible dirty trick against the pharaoh. And if Yami loses more life points Yugi will lose more of himself to the shadows. Her amber-olive eyes drifted back to what was left of Marik. His eyes were still closed; although he was in great danger he looked so peaceful. She wondered how long it has been that she saw him so peaceful.

"Ishizu…" Jesara whispered and looked to her sister-in-law. "What happens to Marik when the pharaoh wins this duel? He'll be lost in the shadows forever when his demon's life points reach zero…"

Piercing blue eyes locked with hers at her words. Ishizu didn't know what to answer; all she could say were some comforting words to help her not giving up on hoping. "I'm sure that the pharaoh will find a way to save the world _and_ my brother's good side…"

"I hope you are right…" Jesara muttered. "And Ishizu? You've been right about my feelings for him. Now I know what you meant. I tried to hate him so badly, but now I know that I still love him. I'm finally able to confess that to myself…"

Ishizu smiled at her slightly and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Maybe Marik's fate isn't all too hopeless now that you know about your heart's feelings."

"Maybe…" Jesara sighed and looked back to the duel. It was Yami's turn and he should better find a way to get rid of Yami Marik's Egyptian God Slime.

First of all he sat a card face-down in the field. "I tribute my Big Shield Gardna in order to summon my Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700). And now I order her to destroy your Bowganian!" He commanded with a loud voice as his magician girl rushed forward to attack; she shot an energy ball towards Yami Marik's monster, but then the attack got negated by the Egaptian God Slime. It shot back the energy ball and hit Yami's Dark Magician Girl who fell to the ground from the impact.

"How is this possible!? My Dark Magician Girl should have destroyed your monster! You owe me an explanation, Marik!" Yami spat from across the field.

"Hahahaha, nothing would I like to do more, my pharaoh." With this a trap card flipped open in front of Yami Marik; the card was all too familiar to the pharaoh. It was Jam Defender. "I guess you already know this card from the duel you had with my weaker half. Whenever you attack any of my monsters my Egyptian God Slime will go in-between and negate it. And since it's fused with Revival Jam it can't be destroyed. Hahahaha."

"I won't loose this, Marik! Take my word for it!" Yami yelled in fury; he was so sure that his Dark Magician Girl will be successful. "Make your move…"

"With please, pharaoh. But first the effect of Bowganian activates and steal 300 of your life points. Hahahaha" Yami Marik laughed triumphantly as his monster shot his arrow towards Yami, hitting him at full tilt into his chest. He let out a painful moan and bowed down in pain. Since it was a shadow game it wasn't just a hologram; everything was quite real here.

"Yugi! Are you okay!?" Tea whined from beside the field as she saw her friend suffering.

As his life points dropped from 1300 down to 1000 parts of Yugi's body started to vanish away, making him whimpering in pain.

"Everything alright, Yugi?" Yami asked in concernment, still slightly bowed from the impact of the arrow. Yugi nodded at him painfully, but forced a reassuring smile.

"Still hoping the best until the end, huh?" Yami Marik chuckled as he drew his next card and then activated a spell card. "I play my card Mining for Magical Stones, pharaoh. It allows me to take a spell card from my graveyard back into my hand. I guess you know which card I decided to get back." He explained and smirked at his opponent, then sat a card face-down on the field. "Additional to that I summon my Swallowtail Spike Lizard (1900/700) in defense mode. As long as it remains in defense position I will gain 1000 life points during each of my turns. Hahahaha."

"It's not looking good for Yugi, guys…" Joey muttered as he watched the duel from the side. "He can't attack Marik's monsters and while he gets stronger with every turn Yugi loses life points… This creep doesn't even need to attack him. Argh"

"I'm sure he will find a way to defeat him." Ishizu said and locked eyes with the blonde teen.

"But what about Marik's good side? He will die with his evil side if Yugi beats him." Joey asked and raised a brow at the black haired egyptian.

Jesara cringed at his words as a shiver shot through her body. Joey was probably right. She started to sob as reality hit her, maybe she really had to watch him dying.

"Jess…" Joey muttered as he saw how tears gathered in her eyes. "I'm so sorry for ya."

Her amber-olive eyes locked with his for a second before she looked down to the ground again. "I didn't even had the chance to tell him goodbye… or what I feel."

"Don't loose hope, Jesara." Ishizu stroked the back of her head gently.

Suddenly something changed about Tea; her eyes turned blank again and her body language was different. "Pharaoh…" Her voice sounded warped; Jesara cringed as she heard her brunette friend speak like that. Could it be that it was Marik again?

"Please, destroy my dark side - come what may. Don't care about me. If his death means that I have to die too… then this is how it should be." Tea said expressionless and pointed her index finder towards Yami Marik on the platform. He shot her an annoyed glare.

"Tea?" Joey waved his hand in front of her face. "Are you home? What's wrong with you?"

"Marik?" Jesara asked whispering as she drew closer to her brunette friend. She nodded at her without saying another word.

"W-why do you say that? Don't tell me that you want to die…" She stammered.

"If that's what it takes to destroy him I will go down with him. I'm sorry, Jesara." Tea, or to be exactly Marik, answered in sorrow.

"Hahahaha. You will die however this duel ends, my dear Marik. You loose. Hahaha." Yami Marik laughed down to them. "But I promise to make it short and crisp for you."

"Marik, I… I need to tell you something…" Jesara spoke up, ignoring his dark side's threats. But he then interrupted them again.

"Nah, I guess you had your chance, sweetheart." Yami Marik chuckled evilly as a golden light enhanced from the millennium rod in his hands. With that Tea's gaze suddenly turned back to normal as she inhaled deeply. Marik was gone again… His dark side must have broken his control over Tea.

"No!" Jesara cried out as she realised he was gone. Her teary gaze shot up to Marik's dark side, who grinned at her in evil amusement. "You are a monster!"

"Maybe. Hahaha." He shrugged his shoulders with sarcastic innocence. Yami growled at him in anger. He never thought someone could be that heartless.

"And if it's the last thing that I do, Marik. I will send you straight back to whatever hell you came from!" Yami spat and drew his card. His words were only answered by a devilish smirk from his opponent.

In Yami's next turn he summoned Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) in defense position and set two cards face-down. He needed to build up a good defense while thinking of a new strategy to beat Yami Marik's Egyptian God Slime. But as his turn ended Yami Marik's Bowganian's special effect activated again; once more his arrow hit Yami at full tilt, taking another 300 life points from him. (700) Yugi's left eye now disappeared into the shadows, he was almost gone - just like Marik.

"We're coming to an end, my pharaoh!" Yami Marik chuckled as he drew a card. "Thanks to my Swallowtail Spike Lizard my life points rise by 1000." And as his monster gave him life points back (1700) also Marik's body started to regain from the shadows equally to the amount of his evil sides points.

"I guess you already know what's coming next, pharaoh. I activate Monster Reborn!" Yami Marik said triumphantly. Everybody knew that he wanted to bring The Winged Dragon Of Ra back to the field - and so he did. The Egyptian god (0/0) appeared in his dangerous phoenix mode on the field, covering the field in flames like he did with Joey earlier.

"Then I pay 1000 of my life points to activate Ra's secret ability to attack and destroy Obelisk! Hahahaha." He explained grinning and the phoenix immediately started it's attack, but suddenly it got negated by Slifer The Sky Dragon. Where did he come from?

"What!?" Yami Marik shouted out loud as his phoenix destroyed Slifer The Sky Dragon instead of Obelisk. "Where did Slifer come from!? Now you owe me an explanation, pharaoh!"

Yami smirked at him as his face-down card flipped open. "You're not the only one with a Monster Reborn card in your deck! I activated it to bring back Slifer and save Obelisk! Ans since Ra only stays for one turn when he's summoned from the graveyard he now leaves the field again!"

"Nice turn, pharaoh. But I guess I have a surprise for you." Yami Marik chuckled and activated a spell card. Yami's eyes and also Jesara's shot wide open as they saw which card it was. "I activate Surprise Attack from Beyond! This card allows me to repeat Ra's attack! Hahahaha."

Again fire surrounded them and Ra rose into the sky. (0/0) "I will also transfer all of my life points to Ra, except of one. That gives my creature 699 attack points." Yami Marik explained, his body slowly started to fade away until just his eye was left. And so did the real Marik's body. His one left half narrowed eye locked with Jesara's watery eyes like he wanted to say goodbye now. His darker half had fused with the Winged Dragon of Ra in the meantime.

"Not so hasty, Marik!" Yami yelled and activated one of his face-down cards - it was Soul Taker. "Soul Taker allows me to tribute one of your monsters immediately! And I use it to sacrifice your Egytian God Slime to activate Obelisk's special effect! Now its life points are infinite! I'm now also able to attack you during your Battle Phase! The only thing I have to do for that is giving you 1000 life points in top!"

"Great turn, Yugi!" Joey cheered in excitement.

Yami Marik's eyes widened in disbelief, now he was close to losing the duel. "Wait! I tribute Bowganian and my Swallowtail Spike Lizard in order to increase the attack points of Ra equally to theirs! Ans since you gifted me with 1000 additional life points because of your Soul Taker card I can transfer them to Ra too! Now he has 4899 attack points!"

"My Obelisk is still stronger than Ra! His attack points are infinite!" Yami snarled and ordered his Obelisk to attack Yami Marik, who was fused to his Winged Dragon Of Ra.

"Close enough, pharaoh!" Yami Marik laughed evilly as he activated another trap card. "I activate Class System! That means that Ra can only be destroyed by a monster with a higher level! And since Obelisk and Ra have the same amount of stars your attack fails! Hahahaha."

Yami growled again; again he was so close.

"It's my turn to attack you, pharaoh! And since the attack points of your Obelisk dropped back to 4000 again it's really for Ra to destroy him!" Yami Marik grinned and commanded his golden Dragon to attack.

"You wish, Marik! I activate Magical Dimension to tribute Obelisk and my Gazelle to summon my Dark Magician (2500/2100) in attack position! And now it's time to finish this duel and send you straight to hell, Marik! I activate Ragnarok!" Yami shouted, his eye filled with confidence. By now he knew there was no way out for his opponent.

"Master Marik!" A low, but weak voice shouted out loud behind of them. Jesara immediately looked back; her amber-olive eyes shot wide open as she saw Odion on his feet. He must've woken up and used all his remaining strength to come all the way up here. She ran to his side to support him with standing, but he kept on walking towards the platform step by step. "Master Marik, don't give up! I know you can beat him and fulfil your ancient duty! I know you have a good heart!"

"Odion… please be careful." Jesara said worried as Odion drew closer and closer. Yami Marik narrowed his eyes dangerously at the bulky egyptian.

"Shut up! You can't seal me away anymore!" He spat and sent a shockwave towards him with the millennium rod, which caused that Odion got wafted off of his feet and hit the railing behind him with his back. But he didn't give up, after letting out a painful moan he managed to get up to his feet again.

"Master Marik! You've created this monster! And you can also destroy him! You need to fight!" Odion shouted again, trying to motivate the weak Marik to fight his dark side with all his remaining strength. Marik's single left lavender eye stared at Odion weakly, maybe it was too late to start a fight.

Suddenly Ishizu's words from earlier shot into Jesara's mind. _'You give Marik a reason to fight.'_ Maybe it was the last chance to tell him what she really felt for him, and maybe this was the key to help him out of his misery. Jesara made three calculated steps forward and came to a halt beside Odion, locking eyes with what was left from Marik.

"Marik! Please fight! Odion is right, you can do it!" Jesara shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice more confident than it ever was during the last days. Her right hand lifted up to her upper chest as like she wanted to grab something. "I'm sorry that I tried to hate you, that I pushed you away and broke my promises that I gave you a long time ago! But now I know that we both made mistakes and now I'm able to forgive you every single one!" A tear ran down her cheek as she took out the necklace with her golden ring attached to it. Marik's lavender eye shot wide open as he saw the sparkling jewellery dangling from it. "And although you gave me literally a million reasons to run away from you and leave you to your demons… now I know that there's just one good reason I need to stay. And that's you, because you are my anchor!" Jesara's brave voice slowly turned into a whimper as more and more tears ran down her cheek. Yami, Joey and the others stared at her in utter surprise.

"I just wanted you to know that I love you too. Please come back… and don't make me a widow now." She confessed before she started to sob heavily. Her vision got blurry from the tears.

With her words spoken a new fire started to burn in Marik's eye before it suddenly disappeared into the darkness.

Suddenly Yami Marik started to scream in pain, his palms met his temples like he was suffering from an unbearable headache. He moaned and groaned in pain; his hand started to cover his left eye like it was the source of the pain.

"Pharaoh! Please! Attack him!" It was Marik's real voice that came from his mouth. "I can't take this for too long! You need to attack and destroy him as long I can keep him at bay! I'm sorry for everything I did to you and your friends! But please, attack him! Now!"

"Master Marik, how long did I wait to hear those words from you…" Odion muttered as he looked at the scene in front of them. Jesara tucked her arm into Odion's and pressed her whole body against his, her anxiety almost overwhelmed her.

"I'm thankful to see you safe and sound, Odion… I really needed you." Jesara stared at him with watery eyes. He smiled back at her and nodded before his gaze drifted back to the duel.

"Well then, Marik! It's time! To unleash the power of Ragnarok I have to remove all my monsters from my deck! With the united powers of my Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl they bundle their forces together with all my other monsters to destroy your Winged Dragon! And since you fused yourself to him, you will disappear with him!" Yami shouted with confidence in his tone.

Suddenly all of Yami's monsters appeared behind him; Slifer, Obelisk, Gazelle and even his Kuriboh appeared to fight against Ra. Slifer and Obelisk started to clutch Ra in a tight grip; they lifted up into the air and then… with a loud bang and a bright light like it was a supernova everything went silent.

The explosion covered Yami Marik's side of the field in thick smoke. Jesara tightened her grip on Odion's arm as she stared at the smoke, trying to get just a little sign of Marik… or what happened to him.

"Did Yugi win?" Joey asked curiously beside them.

"We'll know soon…" Yami muttered, his gaze fixed in the smoke in front of him too.

The smoke started to lift slowly, a male silhouette appeared in it. But Jesara wasn't sure if it was Marik or still his evil side. She prayed with all her might that it was the real one. He breathed heavily, exhausted and weak. His legs trembled heavily.

When the fig finally lifted Jesara couldn't believe her eyes; it was Marik. Also Ishizu couldn't help but shout in excitement. "Marik! My brother!"

Jesara wanted to run and climb onto the platform, but she suddenly was held back by Odion. He looked down at her and shook his head. "Don't. This duel isn't over yet." She stared him in confusion, but he was right… They weren't finished yet.

"Marik, it's over. You're save…" Yami said softly but stern as he eyed the young sandy blonde Egyptian, whose hair was finally back to normal.

"Pharaoh…" Marik muttered, fighting for air. "We still have to bring this to an end."

Yami raised a curious brow at his words. Marik still had 1 life point left, he could still try to win this duel.

"Since my birth it was my destiny to obey you and stay guard in front of your tomb, airing for your return. I never wanted to sacrifice my life for you and so I refused to fulfil my ancient purpose. I was so full of hate and anger that my dark side was born from this. I can't undo my actions, but at least I hope that you can forgive me one day. And today I start with doing the right thing…"

In the meantime his dark side, or at least what was left of him, appeared beside Marik - in the very same spot where he used to be before. His only eye was filled in horror has he realised that the tables had turned for him.

"Marik! No! Stop that! We can still win the duel and claim the endless power of the pharaoh when we work together!" He begged in horror as his weaker half started to lift his right arm to his duel disk.

"No, you caused enough damage. It's over. I don't need you. I'm doing the first thing to get my life back on track with surrendering the duel." Marik said and placed his palm onto his deck, which was the typical gesture when someone wanted to give up a duel. With that his dark side disappeared into the shadows with a painful scream.

"And the winner of the Battle City tournament is Yugi Muto!" Roland announced from the side of the field; this was the official ending of the duel. The gang climbed onto the platform and ran over to their friend to hug and congratulate him. Also Yugi's soul was save again.

Before Jesara was able to start into a sprint Odion lifted her up onto the platform and she immediately ran over to him, throwing herself into his arms. She almost wafted him off of his trembling feet. Jesara buried her head into his chest and wrapped her hands around his abdomen. Marik stroke softly over the back of her head and rested his other hand on her waist.

He inhaled deeply, it was finally over and he made his way back. Back to his body, to his life… to her.

Jesara looked up at him with teary eyes, but this time they were tears of joy. Her amber-olive eyes locked with his lavender ones; oh how she had missed to look into this breathtaking shade of pale violet. She smiled at him softly, still holding him in a tight hug.

"Hi…" Marik murmured with a smile as he brushed a few hair strands out of her face with his index finger. His eyes examined her carefully like he didn't see her for years.

Jesara swallowed hard, her smile grew wider at his gentle greeting. "Hi… I missed you…"

"I missed you too… Mrs Ishtar." Marik placed a soft kiss onto her forehead. "Or should I still call you Switzerland?" Marik cracked a smile, as charming as one could possibly be in this kind of situation.

"Well… Although it's tempting, Marik… I think I prefer to be called Mrs Ishtar. It plays way better with my first name than _Switzerland_." Jesara grinned at him with a wink. "I can't believe that you're back…"

"Same here… Thanks to your words; they gave me a reason to fight." He whispered and pulled her closer to him again and into a kiss. As he broke the kiss he wrapped his arms around her. For the first time since many years he felt something like joy and happiness. The anger that overshadowed his mind for so long had vanished, allowing him so literally breathe again.

"Brother, I'm so glad to have you back." Ishizu said as she approached the two with Odion.

Marik nodded at his sister with a thankful smile, still holding Jesara in a hug. But she loosened the hug when she heard Ishizu beside them. "Ishizu, Odion… Thank you. You've been so right all the time. Sorry that I didn't believe you…"

"You and the pharaoh saved him after all, that's all that counts." Ishizu said wisely and smiled at her.

"Jesara, there's still something I need to do before we can celebrate our reunion. It's time to fulfil my destiny." Marik said gently and loosened the hug as Yami and the gang walked over to them. She could tell from Joey's face that he was quite disappointed to see her in Marik's arms, although he probably had high hopes to date her after Battle City.

"Pharaoh." Marik spoke up as Yami came to a halt in front of them. "Thank you, you saved my life and destroyed my dark side. I'm sorry for what I put you and your friends through; I did horrible things and I wish I could undo my mistakes. As a tomb keeper it was my purpose to serve you and keep your secret until your return." Sorrow filled his voice. Yami locked eyes with the sandy blonde teen that used to be his worst enemy just a few minutes ago.

"First of all I owe you my rarest card, The Winged Dragon of Ra. You'll need it soon." Marik handed over the golden card, Yami could tell from his gaze that he felt ashamed and tried to hide it. Then Marik handed over the Millennium Ring, which his darker side took from Bakura in their shadow game, such as his millennium rod. "They are yours now, pharaoh. The ancient millennium items will help you to regain your memories."

Jesara placed a supporting hand on his shoulders; she felt proud of him. She thought she'd never hear those words from him. He was like a different person now; like the person she fell in love with.

"Thank you." Yami said firm and looked at all of the three god cards in his hands.

"There's one more thing I have to show you, pharaoh." Marik undressed his upper body from his black tank top and turned so that his back was faced towards Yami. Jesara bit her upper and bottom lips as hard as she could to cover a sheepish grin. _'Oh god, at least I can't complain about that chest…'_ She said to herself mentally as her cheeks blushed into a deep shade of red.

"The key to your secret was carved into my back when I was twelve. When you read the old scriptures on my back your destiny will fulfil. And that's when my mission as a tomb keeper ends." He explained, his back still faced to Yami, he examined the old hieroglyphs carefully.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this little story time!" Kaiba cut in, wearing his typical arrogant smirk. "Congratulations, Yugi. But if all of you want to get back to Domino you should get going now. This island is going to explode in one hour."

"What the…, Kaiba! You blow the island? Did Yugi roast your brain in your duel or what's wrong with you?" Joey yelled at the young CEO's words.

"Oh how much I'd like to leave you here, Wheeler." Kaiba growled at the blonde.

Jesara rolled her eyes at their little argument. "You really loose no time though, Mr. Rich & Explosive, huh? Calm your ego."

Marik raised a surprised eyebrow at her statement. "I like how temperamental you got in the last two years." His words were followed by a friendly smirk. She blushed slightly again at his compliment.

"Battle City is over, so why stay here longer than required?" Kaiba spat back and turned on heel as he left towards the elevator.

"I guess you cracked his oversized ego, Yug'." Joey sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Yami just shrugged his shoulders. Marik had put on his tank top again in the meantime.

"Thank you, Marik." Yami said before he looked over to his friends. "Well, I guess we should get going before Kaiba starts his firework."

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**AN: Sorry for that abrupt ending of chapter 17, but since there's just one chapter left to write before this story ends I wanted to save a bit of content for chapter 18.**

**Please leave a review with your thoughts :D**


	18. FINAL CHAPTER: Revive

**AN: Final Chapter Friday! Wuhu! Although I'm so proud to finally bring this story to an end it's a bit sad :P I really enjoyed writing it. This chapter is a bit short, but I guess it's a nice ending for the story. I hope you enjoyed reading OMR. I'd love to have your reviews, because I really appreciate to hear back from you.**

**Guest Review replay: **Thanks for your review! I like that idea of a sequel that happens during season five. I will write a sequel (or prequel, because there are still a few open topics about their past), but I still have to create a few side plots, twists etc. to spice it up. But you're right, a mini-Marik would be sweet :P Thank you! Hope you also like chapter 18.

**Enjoy chapter 18!**

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**FINAL CHAPTER**

**Revive**

They've gotten back onboard of Kaiba Craft 3. Since Battle City was officially over the gang finally had time to relax. The flight back to Domino would take about half a day or longer; nobody mattered about that. Yami had just saved the world from an apocalypse. Their faces were plastered with joy and relief - the nightmare was finally over. As they walked along the hallways of Kaiba Craft 3, heading for their rooms, Joey and Tristan cheered about Yugi's win and recalled his friends most brilliant turns. Tea giggled at their exaggerations; Marik and Jesara walked close behind them - side by side - just listening at Joey's funny statements about Yami Marik's hairstyle. In this moment they just enjoyed being silent, enjoying each others presence again. Jesara smiled sheepishly at him every time she looked at the sandy blonde beside her, meeting his pale lavender pools. She knew that they had so much to catch up on. It was weird that they seemed to do everything in reverse since their arranged marriage when they were kids. After Jesara moved to Domino and got to know the modern world and traditions she learned that a marriage came long after the first kiss, confessing each others love, sharing a home and a bed - at least the rest of the world did it that way. Actually she learned that a wedding was something to put the cheery on the cake in a relationship, for them it somehow was the beginning.

Jesara walked deep in thoughts beside Marik and behind their giggling friends. Her pinky hooked into Marik's; he smiled over to her at the contact.

"Jess?" Tea turned around to face her grey haired friend, giving Jesara her sweetest smile. Her head snapped up at Tea's address, waiting for her to speak. "Soooooo… and what are you two lovebirds going to do after all of this?" Tea asked openly and grinned at the couple. Jesara and Marik grimaced in unison at Tea's awfully direct question. Within seconds the gang took notice and turned back, eyeballing them curiously.

But before Jesara and Marik could even think of an adequate answer Joey's mouth started to work faster than his brain again. "Oh man, Jess… And I really thought we could have a date after all of this…" The blonde sighed, rubbing the back of his head. At his words Yugi and the others face-palmed in unison. "Joey!" They urged.

"Uhm… I-I, no. We…" Jesara stuttered, but couldn't manage to press a straight word out of her mouth. Actually she didn't even had an idea about what to say. She cringed as Marik cut in to answer Tea's question.

"I guess Jesara and me will talk about that." He said friendly but firm; he didn't forget about Joey's crush on Jesara, such as his filthy daydreams he had discovered by using the millennium rod on his mind. Jesara could tell from his expression that cutting off Joey's fingertips was still an option for him. She squeezed his hand softly like she wanted to say _‚Calm down.'_

„Oh, hi guys!" a familiar voice chuckled innocently from behind them. It was Bakura who just walked out the kitchen with a banana in his hand. „How are you doing?"

All stared at him with a puzzled look. „Bakura, you're back!"

„Yeah, but I have to say that she shadow realm isn't the nicest place to be." Bakura said, rubbing his chin sheepishly and munching away his banana.

„I'm glad that he's back after my dark side sent him to the shadows…" Marik murmured while he watched the white haired teen walk away like nothing had ever happened to him. He sighed in relief mentally that Bakura came right on cue to avoid Tea's question and Joey's statements about his dating plans.

„Same goes for you, Marik." Jesara said softly, eyeing him from the corner of her amber-olive gaze.

Suddenly Roland, still wearing his signature sunglasses inside the blimp, crashed into the conversation as he came round the corner in a hurry. „Have you seen Mr Kaiba and Mokuba somewhere around here? I've tried to reach them via cell and intercom, but they don't respond."

Joey raised a quizzical brow at him. „Maybe rich boy is somewhere crying that he lost his own tournament?" The blonde shrugged.

„Just in case you didn't get it, Mr Wheeler, but this blimp won't take off without the Kaiba family on board. And there are just 30 minutes left until this island detonates." Roland explained as professional as possible at Joey's suggestion about Kaiba's whereabouts.

„I'm sorry, Roland. But I'm afraid that we haven't seen him either. Don't you have any idea where he could be?" Yugi shot him a questioning glance.

Roland shook his head. „No… We're running out of time. We need to find him and Mokuba within the next 25 minutes."

„We will help you find him. The faster we get off this island the better." Tea said, then the gang decided to split into three groups to search for the young CEO and his brother in different locations of the island. While Joey, Yugi and Tea decided to look for him in and on the duel tower, Duke & Tristan searched outside. Marik, Jesara, such as Odion and Ishizu made sure to look for the Kaiba brothers everywhere on the blimp. But the search turned out to be senseless - it was like they were gone without a trace.

Everyone was quite out of breath as they met again in the cockpit. By now there were just five minutes remaining before the whole island was about to explode. Roland knew that if they don't take off now they would probably die here.

„We can't wait any longer…" He sighed in utter concernment. May his boss didn't want to be found? He was well aware about his boss' big ego, but a murder-suicide? He never expected him to be capable of such a thing. But if Kaiba would have wanted to get off this island, he would be already onboard. „We'll take off now!"

„But what about Kaiba and Mokuba?" Tea asked with a worried voice.

„I'm sorry Miss Gardner… I guess we can't care for that any longer… Maybe Mr Kaiba wants to…" Roland sighed, he didn't want to speak out loud what was on his mind. „Just hope that they got off the island somehow else."

The engines churned to life and just a moment later the blimp took off, raising high into the air and trying to get as much distance between it and the island as possible. They had to watch how the duel tower and the island exploded, leaving just a big cloud of dust. By now everyone was sure that Kaiba and Mokuba didn't survive - nobody dared to say a word, not even Joey.

Suddenly a big dragon-like silhouette raised from the dust cloud, a loud roar was able to be heard in the cockpit. „That's the Blue Eyes White Dragon! But… how?" Yugi exclaimed as he could finally make out what this silhouette was.

„Arrrrgh! Kaiba! That's an aircraft! He was save all the time!" Joey raged when the dragon-like plane flew right beside them. Kaiba sat in the front of its cockpit, Mokuba right behind him on the passenger seat. Both saluted them with a smirk.

„Moneybags! Just wait until I get to you!" Joey shouted, not aware of the fact that Kaiba couldn't hear him. „Who do you think you are!?"

„Calm down, Joey…" Jesara sighed, rolling her eyes. „At least we all made it off the island safe and sound. Mr Rich & Famous has left the building - the show is over. I guess that was enough action for one day, huh?"

The gang nodded in agreement and then Kaiba's dragon-like aircraft sped off into the opposite direction. Joey struggled to calm down his nerves; although he never liked Kaiba he worried about his wellbeing. Who knew what annoyed him more - that he worried about him or that Kaiba made them believe he committed suicide.

But after all they're thankful that they were finally going back to Domino.

**xx**

Jesara sat on the window seat and stared outside as the clouds passed by rapidly. It was still a breathtaking sunny day - besides the fact that they all had just walked out of the shadow realm and saved the world from the apocalypse. Everything what happened during battle city recalled in her head as she looked down at the ocean; its waves sparkled beautifully in the sunlight of the day.

„What are you thinking about?" Marik asked gently and jolted Jesara out of the daydreaming. His sudden question startled her out of her deep thoughts; she almost forgot that he also was present in her room, sitting with his legs crossed in one of the lounge chairs. His lavender eyes gave her a questioning glance.

She took a deep breath before her amber-olive eyes drifted over to look at the sandy blonde. „Hard to describe… Let's start with the fact that you turned my life upside down. Again."

„Hopefully in a positive way." He added and took a sip of his Coke, rubbing his temple with his index finger while his elbow rested on the arm of the chair. Since they walked into her room he didn't have the slightest idea how to approach her. Although his dark side was destroyed and everything was actually fine again he felt some kind of distance between them. Marik let out a mournful sigh at the thought that his actions - especially those towards her - had left a huge abyss between them. He knew she forgave him, but nobody's problems vanish away just with a single confession of heart.

„I think so." Jesara gave him a reassuring smile. „But we should talk about Tea's question."

He nodded at her, his lavender pools still fixed on her. „Lovebirds…" He recited Tea's words from earlier with a grin. „What do you want?" Marik swallowed hard before continuing to speak. „For us?"

„Well, it's not like we could just hop into the wife-and-husband-life from one day to the next. Both of us changed a lot during the last two years, especially over the last three days." She bowed and rested her elbows on her knees, cupping her face in her hands. „Don't get me wrong, I know more than ever in my life that I want to be with you. But we have to find a point to start from, you know? Like… normal couples."

„You think that we are not _normal_?" Marik raised a questioning brow at her, using air quotes at the last word of his question.

„Marik, seriously? You know what I mean. Or do you think that being married as kids and sharing the very first kiss years and years after it is _normal_?" Jesara asked back with a wry smile.

„So you want to start over completely new?" He stared at her, wishing she would just say what she was thinking about that topic.

„I don't know." Jesara sighed. And again she didn't know what she wanted.

„My dear Jesara, why don't we start with where we want to live?" He asked to get the conversation going. Marik knew that making decisions weren't her favourite parts in a conversation..

„Stop saying this my-dear-stuff, Marik." Jesara urged. „I still attend school in Domino and I don't want to leave my friends behind."

„So you want to stay in Domino? That's fine for me. But you know that you won't ever have to work, don't you? Since you left me two years ago the organisation grew bigger once more and we earned enough money for five lifetimes." Marik explained and nibbled on his Coke, his lavender eyes never broke eye contact with her.

„That may be, Marik. But I'd love to have a sense in life. At least I want to do a job that I really love." Jesara answered, she didn't care for how much money he earned on the black market. "However, I don't want to talk about money - I'd like to talk about us and what to call our _relationship._"

"Jesara…" Marik stood up from the lounge chair he was sitting in and made a few calculated steps towards her, then crouched down in front of her. "Stop talking around the bush. I got your point. You don't know where we should actually start from, right? Why do you worry about that? We started to get to know each other again the day we met in Domino. We already started over new."

Her amber-olive orbs stared intensively into his pale violet ones at his words. "Maybe you're right…"

"I'm always right." Marik said with a friendly smirk and winked at her.

"Almost." Jesara added wryly.

Marik then stood up again and lifted her up with him. A few of light grey hair strands hung into her face, which he softly stroked out of her face with his index finger. They shared a moment of silence, just staring in each others gaze and enjoying the moment of their reunion. Somehow it was still so surreal.

"Well, Mrs Ishtar…" Marik broke the silence after what felt like an eternity. "What about just going with our flow? Don't care too much about this whole arranged-marriage-thing, okay? We'll grow together."

Jesara nodded sheepishly at him. "Sounds good, Mr Ishtar." His soft thumb stroked gently across her blushed cheek, followed by a thankful smile that played on his lips. Her heart skipped a beat in delight at his touch on her neck and cheek. She never expected to forgive him, but doing so felt just right.

Another moment of silence passed by.

His lavender eyes slowly wandered down to her lips as he placed his hands on each side of her waist. "All that counts is what we feel for each other." With these words spoken he pulled her closer to his chest, closing every distance between them. He lips gently met hers; the touch shot a shiver of joy through her body, which intensified as his hand drifted up her spine - inch by inch.

Jesara could sense how he smiled into the kiss they shared - time seemed to stand still for a second. The more their kiss intensified the more she realised how much she missed that during the last two years of separation - how much she had missed him.

"I love you." He whispered into the kiss but didn't stop. Instead Marik scooped her up, turned and gently sat her down on the table in the middle of the room. "I love you too." Jesara whispered back, a bit out of breath.

Her palms rested on his chest now while her lips didn't want to leave his. Even as he tried to break it she pulled him back to her again. Jesara's heartbeats echoed in der head - she didn't want him to end this moment.

"Sure that you don't want to hop directly into that wife-husband-thing?" Marik chuckled gently as he managed to get a bit of distance between his lips and hers.

"You wish." She spoke under her breath and stared intensively into his lavender gaze. "By the way… I love the idea of a man who kneels down and proposes to the girl he loves."

"I'm afraid you watched too much telenovelas with Tea during the last two years, huh?" Marik sighed and smirked at her in sarcasm. Jesara nudged him softly and grinned sheepishly at his statement, but he was actually quite right.

"That's what I meant by being a normal couple." She stated and rested her palms on the table she still sat on. Her cheeks blushed as she realised that her legs gently embraced Marik's hips, who still leant down towards her.

"So you want me to kneel down and ask you to become my wife?" He questioned with a curiously raised eyebrow; his face still just an inch away from hers. "Although you technically already are?"

"I warn you to do that now." Jesara urged at his question. "But yeah, it would feel normal. In a few years maybe. Whenever we feel right for that." Her cheeks now turned into the colour of a beetroot.

"Got it memorised." He said with a wink and pressed his lips onto hers again.

They spent the rest of the flight back to Domino talking about everything that happened while they were separated. Jesara told him how she came to know Yugi and the gang, their adventures, about the culture in Domino, favourite movies, food, music and activities. Since she left Egypt Jesara had discovered a lot of new things and traditions. It almost felt like they're having their first date, what still seemed a bit weird for both of them, but still it was the best moment they shared together for a long time.

After hours and hours of talking and cuddling in between the day turned into night. Eventually they both dozed off in each others embrace.

**xx**

_Knock Knock_

Jesara let out an annoyed moan and stretched herself in the bed as the knocking at her door woke her up from her dreams. Who was disturbing at such an unholy hour? It was dark outside and the blimp was still on its way back home.

_Knock Knock_

"Jess?" A familiar voice could be heard outside her room. "Wake up! We're landing soon!"

_''__Tea?' _Jesara thought as she wanted to lift up from the bed, but then she heard a low murmur behind her. When Jesara felt a muscular arm that embraced her waist from behind her, she remembered that Marik and her fell asleep after talking hours and hours until late at night. She removed his arm as softly as possible from her waist to avoid waking him up. A thankful smile crossed her face as she looked back at him over her shoulder. Marik never looked that peaceful and sweet with his ruffled hair in a long time.

She stood up from the bed and lurched towards her rooms door, still a bit dozily. _'How long did we sleep? What time is it…?'_ Jesara asked herself mentally and pushed the button to open the door for Tea.

"Hey…" Jesara murmured and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Good morning, Jess." Tea grinned, but then her blue eyes drifted over to the bed in her room. "Oh my god! Is this…!? Did you-!?" She squeaked in surprise as she saw Marik still sleeping peacefully.

"Psss!" Jesara fizzled with her index finger in front of her mouth and shoved Tea out of her room. After the automatic door slid shut again behind them Tea gave her that well-known 'tell me everything'-smirk.

"It's not what you think, Tea." Jesara sighed and rolled her eyes. "We were just talking the whole night and then we fell asleep eventually."

"Oh come on! You talked the whole night? That's all?" Tea raised her eyebrow curiously, not believing Jesara a single word. Marik was right, they've watched too much telenovelas. But obviously Tea had an overdose of kitschy love stories.

"Yes, that's all. We're just starting to get to know each other new. It's not like we're going to the limits immediately. What the hell are you thinking?' Jesara narrowed her eyes at her brunette friend.

"Ahhhhhh that's so sweet!" Tea exclaimed with a girly grin. Jesara grimaced at her friends reaction and let out another sigh. It was time to change the topic ASAP.

"You said we're landing soon? What time is it?" She asked.

"It's almost 6 am, we're probably landing in about 30 minutes. Roland wanted to get us back to Domino as fast as possible." Tea explained.

"Oh that's fine. I'll go and grab a coffee from Kaiba's fancy espresso machine." Jesara said with a smile and pointed into the direction of the kitchen. "Do you come with me?" Tea nodded, still hoping to get some insider information about Jesara's and Marik's night together.

Impossible. For now Jesara wanted to keep the relationship stuff just between him and her.

**xx**

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Jesara whispered and stroked through his sandy blonde hair. "Time to wake up."

"Mhhhhhh?" Marik moaned as he half opened his pale violet eyes slowly. He then propped himself up on the bed and glanced half asleep at Jesara, who sat on the bed beside him and held two mugs with the Kaiba Corp logo on it.

"We're almost back in Domino. I thought you could need a black tea to wake yourself up?" She smiled at the weary sandy blonde and offered the mug with the steaming tea, which he accepted thankfully.

"So no breakfast in bed?" Marik chuckled and took a sip of his tea. "What a pity."

"We'll have a lot of time to have breakfast in bed, Romeo." Jesara smirked at him and also took a sip from her cappuccino. "But after those quite intense past few days it's your turn to serve me breakfast in bed first." She said with a wink. Two years ago it was out of question that he'd probably serve _her_ breakfast in bed. Jesara grinned wryly at that imagination of him doing so.

"I'm afraid I'm a horrible cook. You'll regret that." Marik bantered back.

"I guess that also _you_ can manage to cook scrambled eggs." Jesara blinked and gently stroked a hair strand out of his face. "I have to warn you. Tea came to wake me up earlier and she saw you sleeping in my bed. I'm afraid she thinks you-know-what about what we did last night. Just be quiet; Tea could be very persistent if she wants to get informations out of somebody."

"Mhhh. Interesting. I have to admit that you-know-what would have been pleasant." Marik said, wearing his typical smirk. At those words Jesara's cheeks blushed into a deep shade of red and nudged him in admonishment.

"Very funny, Mr Ishtar."

**/ DOMINO HARBOUR**

After landing Yugi and the gang decided to accompany Marik, Ishizu and Odion to say good bye. The sun was already raising and bathed the harbour in warm, golden shades of light.

"Pharaoh, I can't describe to you how deeply indebted I am to you. Thank you for everything." Marik said as he offered his tanned hand for a shake, which Yugi accepted.

"Nothing to thank for." Yami replied with a slight smile. "So, you're going back to Egypt?"

"Yes, we need to go back to the tomb and see if everything's alright there." Ishizu cut in. "I hope you and your friends can come to Egypt during the upcoming summer holidays to learn more about your ancient life and fulfil your destiny."

"Sure we will! First class!" Joey cheered, he heard that Egypt was a great place to be for a beach holiday.

Yami, Tea and Jesara rolled their eyes in unison before Jesara spoke up. "But Marik… didn't you want to stay here?" She gave him a curious glance, hoping that they won't have to separate again - even if it may be for just a few weeks.

"Yeah…" The sandy blonde rubbed the back of his head and shot his sister a meaningful glance. His lavender eyes and expression left nothing else to say. Ishizu let out a sigh when she understood the unspoken question.

"What else did I expect? I knew you won't let her alone after you two found back together." Ishizu said and smiled wisely at her brother. "Odion and I will go back to Egypt and prepare for the pharaoh's visit. As soon as school ends here you and Jesara can follow."

"Thank you, sister." Marik nodded at the black haired egyptian woman and step-brother. His hand held Jesara's in a tight clinch.

"Master Marik." Odion spoke up to catch his attention, but was immediately cut off by the sandy blonde.

"Odion, stop calling me master. Those times are over." Marik's expression was firm, but still soft at the same time.

"Marik." Odion corrected. "I have something for you and I think now is the right time to give it back to you." The bulky egyptian searched through his pockets until he found what he was looking for. It was a little pouch made from violet velvet. "Ishizu told me about how you paid for Jesara's medicine when she was sick."

Marik turned to look him in the eye, raising a brow in curiosity and wondering what this was about. "What do you mean?" He asked, although he already knew what Odion was about to say.

"After Jesara left you've been bummed out and I saw how much you craved for her to come back. Then I remembered that you never bought back your wedding band from the market. So I decided to buy it back for you and store it until the time is right." Odion explained and handed the little pouch over to Marik. Jesara stared at Marik beside her and remembered that he swapped it for her medicine a long time ago. And she was certain that he'd never see it again - until now.

"Thank you, Odion…" Marik exhaled with a smile. "I can't tell you how much that means to me." He then opened the little velvet pouch and looked at the golden jewellery in his palm.

"You're welcome." Odion said and nodded. Ishizu also gave him a thankful nod.

"Awwww, that's so cute!" Tea exclaimed as her palms cupped her cheeks. Joey grimaced at the scene in front of his eyes - this was far too kitschy for his taste.

"D-Do you want to wear them?" Jesara asked almost whispering as she rested her chin on Marik's shoulder and stared at the golden ring in his hand. Since she was a bit smaller than him she had to stand on her tiptoes.

Marik looked at her from the corner of his lavender eyes, surprised by her question. "That's up to you. But I thought you want to take it slowly?"

"I know." She sighed and didn't know what else she could say. Actually she didn't really know why she asked anyway. But beside being wedding bands they were full of old memories and some kind of a keepsake.

"I still can't believe that they're back together." Joes sighed under his breath, low enough that just Tristan and Duke beside him could hear him.

"That wouldn't have worked anyways, Joey. Jess isn't your league." Tristan whispered back and crossed his arms behind his head.

"True… True…" Duke agreed with his signature playboy smirk. By that Joey let out a warning growl at his two friends.

Marik turned towards her and and gently unclipped her necklace from her neck. "Let's see if it still fits…" He whispered into her ear as he did so. A joyful shiver shot down her neck as his breath met her skin.

"Jesara." He said as he made a calculated step back and fiddled her ring off the golden necklace. She stared at him with quizzically eyes, nervous about what he was doing next and wondering why he took her ring from her. "Maybe I need to thank Tea for watching so much kitschy telenovelas with you." He gave Tea a short smile in his typical charming way. At this Tea's cheeks blushed a bit, but didn't know why he said that. Maybe an inside joke?

"Marik, what are you talking about?" Jesara raised an eyebrow in concernment; her heart started to beat faster and faster with every second that passed by.

With that he slowly got down to his knee and held both rings in his palm for her to see. He cleared his throat before he spoke. "Will you marry me? Again? This time because of love and not because of ancient traditions?"

Jesara gasped as her heart skipped a beat; her palms covered her agape mouth as his words slowly sank in. Also Yami and her friends stood with their eyes wide open and mouths agape in surprise. They definitely didn't expect that.

Ishizu and Odion grinned at each other with a wink before their gaze went back to Jesara, who still stared down at Marik in puzzlement. Tears of happiness gathered in the corners of her amber-olive eyes. For a moment they all stood in silence, just the sounds of waves and seagulls filled the atmosphere. As her palms slowly left her lips they revealed a smile, full of happiness and joy. Jesara took a deep breath while her eyes were still locked with those pale lavender orbs she lost herself in the day they met. This time it felt more than right.

"Yes."

* * *

**AN: Hope you all won't die from an overdose of kitsch! :D The sequel / prequel is already on my bucket list. I hope you enjoyed OMR.**

**Leave a review and ket me know how you liked this kitschy happy ending!**

**Merci!**


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